Dragon's Child- Playing Cards
by PokeSpeBanette
Summary: A card that sends a girl flying (quite literally, in fact) into the pokemon world sets her on a self-appointed quest to find answers. With the help of a reluctant and slightly-insane Skitty, Faith tries to find a way to get back to her own world, helping and scaring people along the way. DISCONTINUED. I HAD NO CLUE WHAT I WAS DOING WITH THIS FIC.
1. Chapter 1- Introducing Me

Renny: So basically this is a Nuzlocke of my Sapphire game, which has its internal battery dried up, so there's no time movement. Which is just weird, but whatever.

Green: I'm guessing this means I won't be in this at all?

Renny: You might, don't worry. Not yet though, at some point. Anyway, if you all wanna know what the main character looks like in my eyes, I will draw a picture and then post it on DeviantART, then link it on my profile on this site. I'm . . . hoping that the chapters in this fic'll be long-ish, but I do know this one may be- mainly because it's accommodating for two worlds.

Green: Do you even know what that word means.

Renny: . . . Yes?

Green: Ugh.

Renny: Yeah, anyway. Prepare to be shocked by the characters' appearance, or at leasy certain aspects of her.

Green: You mean how she has dra-

Renny: NOT A WORD YOU'RE GONNA SPOIL THE SHOCK. Anyway . . . I need a disclaimer!

Green: . . . Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

The mountain was vast, in both air and land. The air was cold, but not exactly frigid, so it was safe to fly in. The ground, well, the ground was a mountain's flesh- rocky, yet somehow beautiful too.

Also good for hiking, when the occasional human bothered to make his or her way up.

It was covered in snow towards the very, very highest peak. Despite this snow, everywhere else had huge valleys filled with greenery, and was lush and fertile. This mountain was called Winter's Garden by many.

In one of these huge valleys, a cave opening broke up some of the greenery on a small cliff with enough space for several people to stand on comfortably. It was stationed on the wall of the valley, with vines hanging down that acted as a door of sorts. The cliff that was outside of this cave had a path that was just wide enough for two or three people to walk down to the valley below.

The valley itself was covered in rocks, shrubs, grass, everything. The small river that ran through the middle went straight into a huge lake on the other side of the valley. The source of this river and lake came from a huge pool from the near-peak of the mountain, so a waterfall lived at the opposite side of this valley, and the water was always refreshingly cool.

The day was bright, the sun shining softly down on the valley. Rabbits that lived on the mountain hopped about quietly, nibbling on grass that was their food source. A few mice scuttled around, picking up bits of their own food as they scavenged what the rabbits left behind.

And above all this, a humanoid shadow passed over the valley floor. The rabbits out in the open squeaked and ducked for cover, even as the air was pushed out of the way with beating wings.

The humanoid creature touched down on the valley floor gracefully, next to the river, and folded their pure black dragon-esque wings, making a sort of shield. A long, black scaled tail sweeped the grass behind this creature, as they bent down to cup their hands for a drink of the river. The tail had two wing-like tail fins at the tip, to help stabilize flight.

The creature also had pure black hair, seeming like it had been hacked off where it should have been cleanly cut, but it was still so long that it reached the creature's mid-back, tied up by a strong vine. They also had two black, cat-like ears where a humans' ears would have been, and bright blue eyes that contrasted with their hair, wings and tail, along with pale skin.

The humanoid creature drank, being mindful of their clothing (which, because they lived on a mountain, resembled rags), and slowly the rabbits and other animals who were frightened away by the creature's shadow slowly came out of hiding.

A few rabbits hopped up slowly, sniffing cautiously, and, when they sensed no threat from the dragon-winged humanoid creature, settled back into what they had been doing before the creature's shadow had frightened them.

The dragon-winged human glanced at the animals around them, and, with a small smile, spread their wings.

The black wings streatched until they were fully extended, and then slowly beat for a few seconds to test they weren't cramped. Then the creature turned around, and the tail-fins extended as they started beating their wings to take off.

A few seconds later, after a few small bounds, the creature took off and glided on the air to the cave on the cliff.

 **oooo**

Faith woke up slowly. Her wings felt a bit sore, but she had been flying up the mountain to visit a few of the other Dracos scattered around, and they did live further up Winter's Garden than she did.

But whatever.

It had been fun, to exchange stories with her friends and family on the mountain.

The moss she slept on was soft and springy, so at least her sore wings were cushioned. But she still needed to get up anyway, so she slowly stretched out her body, wings and tail included, and stood. Then Faith glanced at her store, which had been a little messed up when she stretched out.

She heard the sound of wing beats outside of her cave, and she looked away from sorting out her store of food to see a boy with pale yellow dragon wings and no tail, pale yellow cat-ears and bright blonde hair, and brown eyes.

" . . . Oh! So you are awake!" the boy exclaimed, and even though Faith couldn't see his face because the sun was behind him, he was almost certainly grinning.

"What the hell do you want now?" Faith muttered.

"Mom told me she-"

"Mom kicked you out again." It wasn't even a question at this point.

"No, she didn't!" the boy scoffed.

"Right . . . how old are you again? Fifteen winters?" Faith asked mockingly. "Yeah, seems more like three if you ask me."

"Oh shut up, at least Mom still lets me live in her cave." the boy said, in an annoying whine.

"Yeah, no, she _let_ me get my own cave even though I'm only twelve winters- what does that say about you? That you're an immature brat." Faith told him, smirking.

"Shut up."

"See, that's exactly why I always win these, because the best argument you can come up with is 'shut up'." Faith said.

"Shut up."

"I rest my claw."

"Oh yeah, Mom sent me up to tell you your stupid humans are coming up." the boy said, disdainfully.

"Hey, they're not stupid, they're my friends! Get lost or else." Faith snapped.

"Or else what, freak?" the boy smirked.

Faith took a few steps until she was standing right in front of him, and even though she was a head and a half smaller than him, the boy still looked a bit intimidated. But he tried to hide it, as usual.

"Or I'll break the only thing that makes you a boy." Faith said calmly. "Liam, get lost."

By the time her human friends came up the pathway to her cave, Liam had flown off. The first human was female, wore things that the humans called 'glasses' or something to see, and her hair was brown, reached her shoulders, and she was a few inches taller than Faith. The second was male, he was incredibly tall, with white hair and red eyes (the humans called this an 'albino'). The third was also male, the same size as the female, with black hair.

With them, they brought a box.

"Faith, hey!" the female called, dashing over happily.

"Lily, what brings you to my neck of the Garden?" Faith grinned, her arms open.

Lily grabbed Faith and hugged her (something which Faith had learnt was a human gesture of affection- for a Draco, it meant she wanted to duel).

"We got some new cards!" Lily cried, pulling back and snatching the box from the albino.

"Hey!" the albino snapped, when the box was ripped out of his hands.

"Cael, shut up." Lily told him, not even looking in his direction. "Thorn got them this time."

'Thorn' was just a nickname- his real name was Carl, but he hated it, so Faith gave him the nickname. For Dracos, 'Thorn' was a name that meant 'good will', so they all took to it very quickly. According to Lily and Cael, he'd told everyone back in the town to call him Thorn.

"What'd we get then?" Faith asked, as they all seated themselves down on the cave floor- of course, she did put some moss down beforehand.

"Well, as far as I can tell, a few new Energy cards," Thorn began, taking the box from Lily and opening it up. "Along with another Zigzagoon and Linoone, we finally got a few Lotads too, which means we can now play Lombre and Ludicolo."

"Any Skitty or Banette?" Faith asked.

"We still only have the one Skitty, and you've got that." Cael said quietly. He was generally the quietest of the four of them, but when he got into something, he could be as loud as they would be.

"Hey, gimme a break, you ass." Faith said, sticking out her tongue. She whacked him with her tail. "I love that Skitty card."

"No Banette this time." Lily shook her head. "I don't think Primal Clash even _has_ Shuppet or Banette in the deck, really."

"Aw, damn." Faith sighed. "Ah well, let's get on with this- Lily, you ready to kick their asses again?"

"You know it!"

"You won't get lucky this time!" Cael hissed. "This whole thing's mostly down to who gets what card, so if we get a Kyogre or Groudon, you're both screwed."

"Yeah don't forget, we have Skittles." Faith told him smugly, taking out her Skitty card.

It was her favourite card, so the three humans had allowed her to keep it up on the Garden with her. But even so, she still played it into the game- mostly because they always got the Delcatty card to evolve Skittles when they played it. So basically, the Skitty card had become the girls' team mascot and best card when evolved or otherwise.

"So you're the ones who're screwed." Lily smirked.

 **oooo**

They ended up playing three or four rounds, nearly all of which Faith and Lily won. The only time they didn't win was when they didn't get Skittles into the Bench team or on Active duty, as they called it, but they still got to use Groudon for a while.

Then, as they were looking through the deck to sort out the cards for the next game (which they decided would be held in Cael's house, much to his annoyance), Faith found a strange card.

It hadn't been played at all during the game, and it was one of the shiny ones. Faith guessed it was a Supporter, but it didn't even have anything except for the name Cludiant or something, and a picture of some kind of portal.

 _'Playing this card allows you to become one with the game.'_

 _Must be a typo, or whatever the humans call it,_ Faith decided. It was probably meant to say 'Playing this card allows you to draw [insert number of cards or whatever here]' or something. Maybe someone in the card makers place was being funny.

"Hey, guys." she called.

Once they'd all seen the Cludiant card, they were all equally as puzzled.

"Did you see anything like this when you checked the deck?" Lily asked Thorn.

"Uh . . . nothing like this, I don't think." Thorn frowned, taking the card from Faith and studying it. "Perhaps the card was slipped in by someone passing by?"

"Unless another Draco knows what a card even is, I doubt it." Faith told him.

"Then I must have glossed over it by accident." Thorn said, handing it back.

" . . . 'Glossed'?" Faith blinked.

"To treat hurriedly or avoid dealing with properly." Thorn explained. "In this case, it must have been an accident."

"But you never gloss over cards!" Lily cried, sounding offended on his behalf.

"Well whatever it is, wherever it came from, what the hell does the description mean?" Cael interrupted.

"Hey, think we should ask the Toy Shop manager?" Lily wondered.

"I doubt that guy even knew; he just sells the stuff, doesn't he?" Faith checked.

"Yep."

"So I guess that means we need to figure out what _'playing this card allows you to become one with the game'_ means ourselves." Faith shrugged. She turned the card around, checking the back of it (it might have been a fake, you never know) but it seemed to be real.

A few seconds passed.

" . . . Uh, Faith?"

"Yeah?"

They were all looking behind her with wide eyes, even Cael. Her first thought would have been that maybe they were trying to play a trick on her, scare her into looking behind, but then she realised that Cael wasn't the type to get in on this kind of stuff. And . . . she could also feel something like wind behind her.

But her back was to the cave wall, and she was facing the opening, so she shouldn't have felt wind _behind_ her.

She turned around slowly, and froze.

That portal thing that was on the card was now completely real, and was swirling around, blowing wind out. Then it twisted weirdly, and suddenly it was pulling things towards it.

"FAITH, FLY!" Lily screamed suddenly.

And then Faith noticed she was being pulled towards it as well.

She opened her wings, not even caring that she was gonna mess up her store anymore, and tried to fly. But the wind pulling her into the portal was strong, even against her, and just as her three human friends tried to grab hold of her, the portal sucked her in.

 **oooo**

The first thing she noticed was that the world around her was now moving so fast that it was a literal blur, and it looked silvery-blue. She couldn't hear anything except for the whoosh sound of the movement, so Faith assumed that she was in some kind of tunnel.

Well . . . damn, she really shouldn't have read what was on that Cludiant card.

Faith heard something shatter- maybe the blur? Then that would mean she _was_ in some kind of tunnel, no question about it.

Then she was falling. Faith panicked, for a moment forgetting what her species was, and flailed about in the air as a foresgt rushed towards her.

 _Wait, what the hell am I doing? I can fly, for the Stars' sake!_

She spread her wings, beating frantically, and quickly extended her tail fins. They helped to stabilize her flight, and Faith quickly found herself hovering a few feet away from a very prickly-looking tree that could have killed her if she hadn't stopped in time.

Faith's ears were flat on her head, and she was panting softly with a terror that didn't seem to want to go away.

So where the hell had she ended up? And where were her friends?

She felt something slip out of the pocket of her tatty trousers, and Faith squeaked when she realised it was her Skitty card. It must have come out a little when she had been moving through the tunnel-portal thing, and her sudden stop in mid-air must have dislodged it.

Faith quickly dived after it and, just as the card was about to hit the ground and possibly be lost forever (because this grass was really long and she might have accidently blown it away if she had landed), she grabbed it. Relieved beyond words, Faith quickly and carefully put her little Skittles back into her pocket, and glanced around.

Then she landed as softly as she could, because who knew what was in this place.

 _I don't think I'm on Winter's Garden anymore,_ was her first thought on the ground.

So that left the question- where was she?

Faith had only ever been to three places. The Winter's Garden (her home), her friends' homes (plus the town too, as an extension), and the small forest outside of the town that acted as a border of sorts. She knew almost every inch of that forest, having played there with her friends, and she never knew the grass to be this tall.

Her wings accidently blew up a small wind wave that knocked some leaves down from a tree as she turned around to check her surroundings, and Faith quickly folded them so they didn't cause any trouble for the wildlife around the forest, if there even was any.

Faith heard a small rustle, and turned to the direction of the sound. In the bushes nearby she could see a small creature moving around, but the fact that she could see it was strange- normally animals were adapted to hide in bushes and such, they didn't have weird bright colours.

" . . . Uh, hello?" Faith tried. As cut off as her species were to the outside world (of course, she was different) they did actually have the ability to understand some animals. It was different for each Draco, and Faith had yet to find which animal species she understood, but if she could talk to this- whatever it was . . .

She could find out where she was.

"What are you?" she called to the creature.

The creature shifted in the bushes, and then it was gone. Faith was a bit disappointed for a few seconds, before she noticed it climbing a tree to a branch that was a few feet away from Faith.

" . . . What are _you_?" the creature asked.

Awesome, she could understand it!

Oh, wait, no. Not 'it', this creature sounded like a young female.

"Uh, I'm what's called a Draco. You?"

"I'm called Skitty!"

" . . . You're called _what_ now?"

The creature stepped out into the light, where the branch couldn't shield her form with leaves, and Faith couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Skitty, silly!" the pink kitten-like creature giggled. "Don't you know another pokemon when you see it?"

"I'm . . . not a pokemon."

This wasn't real. How could it be? But there she was, sitting comfortably on a branch like she'd been real forever, a tiny little Skitty. Faith grabbed her Skitty card and looked from the image to the real thing, and summarized that, yes, this pink cat was in fact a Skitty.

"This is insane." Faith breathed, taking a step back so she could study the Skitty properly. "Pokemon- . . . pokemon are just a bunch of pixels, cards, whatever! How . . . how are you . . ."

"What's a pixel?" the Skitty tilted her head curiously. "And a card too?"

"A-a card . . . is this." Faith swallowed, holding up the Skitty card.

"Oh, wow, that's me!" the Skitty cried, with a huge and happy grin.

"Yeah . . . I call it Skittles." Faith admitted.

"Oh, you gave the card-me a nickname?" the Skitty giggled. "That's so cute!"

"Yeah, sure . . ."

Okay, so, here Faith was, a Draco, talking to something that shouldn't have been real, let alone talking to her like it was completely normal. But maybe . . . maybe the tunnel-portal thing had taken her to the pokemon world?

 _'Playing this card allows you to become one with the game.'_

And suddenly it made sense- the card wasn't a playing card, it wasn't even a card at all. Maybe it was some kind of tarot card? But the description was very obviously literal.

Oh.

That meant . . .

Skitty in front of her was actually real.

Faith was in the world of pokemon.

 _Well damn,_ she thought.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I honestly don't know how many words this has. Won't until I actually upload it. But whatever- it seems long enough for my tastes, so I think I'll leave it off here.

Green: The main character has the same name as that one-eyed Eevee from the _Faith_ comic, you know.

Renny: And?

Green: Just thought I should point it out.

Renny: Right, whatever. Anyway, Cludiant is actually Welsh for Transport. I wanted the card to sound cool and mysterious at the same time, so I decided to call it something in a different language. Or maybe it's actually something else entirely, since I used Google Translate for the word . . . whatever.

Green: How reliable is Google Translate?

Renny: . . . Not that much. But whatever, it's called Cludiant now anyway. You'll find out what happened to the card itself next chapters, hopefully. Read and review, please!


	2. Chapter 2- Explain This

Renny: As I'm writing this, there haven't been any reviews for the fanfic at all. Hopefully by the time I finish, it'll have at least one or two- I'm hoping to get this to the level of _Redemption_ , y'know!

Green: . . . But Faith isn't even from the pokemon world, how can she get redemption like I did in that fic?

Renny: I mean, with the same amount of reviews and chapters and such.

Green: Ah. Makes more sense, I guess?

Renny: It does, don't worry. Anyway . . . I noticed that the last chapter appears to have only gotten nine pages. Normally I'd be able to write at least ten, eleven, twelve, even more if I can for a starting chapter. Then again . . . it _is_ a starting chapter, and I'm hoping this one's gonna be longer, if I can help it.

Green: You explain things a lot, don't you?

Renny: That I do. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Record 49- Dracos**

Not much is known about the humanoid species known as Dracos. We do, however, know that these strange creatures are like humans. But they possess 'extra' limbs such as the wings, tails and ears of dragons, so we summarize that Dracos are in fact the hybrid off-spring of dragons and humans, but we do not know how long ago these creatures were created.

What we do know about them is that many prefer to live in mountainous places, or forests and sea caves. They possess the ability to use their ears, wings and tails perfectly as if they were birds, so we realise that these 'extra' limbs are not just for show. It is not known whether or not Dracos can breathe fire or scream as if they were full dragons.

The name 'Draco' comes from the Latin word meaning 'dragon'. The full name of these creatures is in fact Pueri Draco, meaning 'Dragon Children'. Over time this name was shortened to 'Draco', and we currently understand that the Dracos themselves refer to themselves as this.

Despite actually being Dracos, these creatures do not seem to know their own true origins. However, humans and Dracos alike usually use the assumption that they are the spawn of dragons and humans from days long past the world.

Dracos are also very thick-skinned, which is why many make their homes in rocky places like mountains. One such example of this is the huge colony living up on a huge, cold winter-like mountain known as the Winter's Garden. It is not known whether or not these Dracos ever come down the mountain to mingle with the human town at the foot of the mountain, bordered by a forest.

Because Dracos have such thick skin, they cannot be hurt as humans would. For example, a fall that may break a human's bone could easily just bruise a Draco mildly. They also possess healing abilities far beyond anything that humans have seen, and example being that for a human, a wound may heal within a few weeks, while for a Draco this could happen in days or minutes, depending on the Draco itself.

Another strange ability that Dracos seem to have is the ability to speak with certain animals. As with the rate of healing, this differs from each Draco- each one understands a different species of animal. However, as many do not leave their homes for much of their lives, many Dracos do not seem to find the animal they can speak with.

 **This Record may be incomplete, and as such it is open for information to be written.**

 **Previous / Next**

 **oooo**

"Another world, huh?"

By now Faith had somewhat gotten used to the little Skitty following her around. She was still a bit . . . well, in shock, she could say, to see a real life pokemon, but whatever.

The long grass was what Faith assumed was the grass in the games where wild pokemon lived, but so far she'd only seen Skitty. So maybe it was different in real life, for these guys?

"Yeah." Faith nodded. Skitty had taken up a perch on her shoulder, and if she was planning on staying there, Faith may have to charge berries for residence or something.

"So, lemme get this straight . . ." Skitty said. "You're from another world entirely, where pokemon don't exist and there are things called animals that don't have any abilities or anything. You're also a human-ish thing called a Draco, and you're not actually a pokemon at all. You was sucked into a portal thingy and was spat out into this world. Right?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Faith shrugged.

She didn't expect the meant-to-be-a-pixel-thing Skitty to fall off her shoulder, laughing so hard she was crying. Faith paused to watch for a while, as the small kitten-like creature rolled in the tall grass and flattened some strands along the way.

"W-wow, you're insane!" Skitty cried, banging the ground with her paws. "I-I never thought I'd meet a pokemon who was insane, but you- you're _hilarious_!"

" . . . Says the thing who shouldn't even exist."

"Ah-hah, you're funny." Skitty gasped. She stood up slowly, stumbling a little because of her lost breath when she'd laughed, and Faith quickly held out her tail to steady the tiny kitten.

"Moving on . . . where are we?" Faith asked, finally getting to the question she'd been dying to ask for Stars-know-how-long.

"Oh, the humans call this root one-oh-one or something, but we pokemon refer to it as Little Path. Because it's a small forest path, you know?" Skitty answered.

Root one-oh-one? Route 101, Faith assumed she meant. That meant she was in Hoenn or whatever the games called it, which would certainly explain Skitty's presence. But not her presence in this Route- Lily had told her that Skitty lived on Route 116.

So why was this one in the first Route of the region?

Faith was just about to ask her that, despite all the pokemon's teasing about her being insane or whatever, when the Skitty suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What now?" Faith sighed. She'd stopped several times, every single time had been to pee or 'the other thing'.

"I think we're near the human place." Skitty tilted her head a little, and blinked.

"You can tell?"

"Well yeah, pokemon use sense of smell if they can. You have a nose, use it!" Skitty huffed.

Wow, she looked adorable when she was mad.

"I'm not a- you know what? I'm sick of telling you otherwise." Faith muttered. "I just hope no one else tries to mistake me for a pokemon."

"Whatever you say, Miss."

"Faith."

"Ah-huh."

They kept walking, even though Skitty suddenly started insisting they don't go near the town- Littleroot town, if Faith could remember properly.

"I don't think we should go anywhere near humans, they try and catch us you know! And I don't wanna be caught!"

"I thought pokemon wanted to be caught?" Faith stopped in her tracks. She had assumed that was why the wild pokemon in the games and the anime stepped into a Trainer's path- to get caught and be trained.

"Uh, most do. Not me, though!" Skitty said proudly. "I prefer to stay wild, cus it's more fun. Trainer's are the entire reason I can't go back to my own Path, you know. I hate them."

Right . . . well, if owning and playing the card game made Faith a Trainer of sorts, that meant Skitty hated her too. And Faith was all-too used to others hating her for the stupidest of reasons.

Well, she did have three human friends, and she knew a lot about thier culture and stuff- that was considered . . . unlike a Draco, so she'd been labelled as a freak.

Too bad her mouth didn't connect with her brain fast enough.

"You know, I guess technically I'm a Trainer." she mused.

Skitty turned to stare at her.

" . . . How can a pokemon be a Trainer?" was the only thing she said.

"I'm not a pokemon, I'm a Draco, I'm not even from this world!" Faith snapped. "Get that into your little skull, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure. And I'm a Taillow."

Okay, Faith gave up. For now anyway.

"Hey wait where are- NO DON'T GO NEAR THE HUMAN PLAAAAACE!"

Faith found herself being tripped up by the little kitten, and the only thing that saved her from face-planting on the ground was her tail automatically wrapping around a tree branch low enough for the tail to reach. Faith pulled herself back up and stared down at the Skitty, unimpressed.

"You could have killed me!" Faith snapped.

"Uh, this grass is springy, I don't think so." Skitty told her.

Faith huffed and crossed her arms. "I mean, what if something had been there? Like . . . some idiot had left a shard of glass there, or some kind of deadly weapon or something, and I'd fallen on it? You wanna feel responsible for killing me?"

"What's a shard of glass?"

Faith deadpanned and walked on.

"NO DON'T-"

Skitty froze when they came out of the bushes into what Faith assumed was Littleroot town, but she still wasn't entirely certain. Thorn said that there was always some kind of sign that said what town or Route or city or whatever the place was, so Faith decided to go and find one.

Cael had said that the most likely place for a sign telling you what town/Route/city you were in was probably near one of the entrances to the place, in some cases the only entrance. So, that meant she had to go and find the entrance to 'Littleroot'.

With a panicking pink kitten on her tail.

Yay.

"Would you shut up already?" Faisth demanded harshly, keeping her voice down. Even if she wanted to get to a town, she didn't really want to get into trouble- if a pokemon mistook her for a pokemon, then a human would mistake her for one as well, and in the anime pokemon never spoke (except for the Meowth, that was different).

"Hey, you might wanna get caught and be enslaved by horrible monsters who force us to fight to the death for their amusement, but I'd rather stay _wild_ and _free_!" Skitty whispered back.

"Wow, you really hate humans, huh?"

"You think?"

Despite not wanting to stay with her, Skitty seemed reluctant to leave. So she stayed, for whatever reason (maybe she was worried about a 'fellow pokemon') and sneaked around with Faith until they finally found the entrance to the town.

"Huh. So we are in Littleroot." Faith muttered.

She noticed a human walking by, and, just before he spotted her, she dived into the bush nearby. Skitty seemed to freeze, so Faith grabbed her by the tail and yanked her in too.

"I thought you wanted to come here?" Skitty whispered, as the human passed by.

"Yeah, to find out where I am." Faith answered.

"I _told_ you!"

"You told me the pokemon version, I needed the human version because it's what I actually understand."

Skitty grumbled, while Faith kept an eye on the human as he paused just a few feet away from the bush. He seemed a little bit . . . well, large, if that's what humans called it (though since she lived on a mountain where food wasn't exactly in full spring, she couldn't really judge). Then she recognised him.

It was that guy that gave you your starter in the games- one of them anyway. What was the name for the one in Hoenn? Professor . . . he was named after a tree . . . Birch, that was it! Lily said he was a field researcher, so maybe he was going out to research stuff in the wild?

" . . . May?" the man suddenly called. "If you're there, would you come out please? I know you still like playing in the trees, but you do know Brendan's been looking for you?"

May?

The girl that was with Ash when he'd gone through Hoenn? Granted, Faith hadn't seen much of the Hoenn season (she had seen the entire Sinnoh one and some of the Kanto one, however), but she knew enough to know who May was. A Coordinator, and a pretty damn good one at that.

Did that mean she was in the anime? But this Brendan had never even been _mentioned_ in the anime at all, and as far as Faith could tell, he never would be.

So . . . maybe she was in the games, instead. Or just some random world where all characters lived together, but whatever.

Faith just hoped Birch didn't get the idea to look into the bushes.

"Professor Birch?"

The large-ish man turned around to another patch of bush, and spotted May. She looked like the one from the anime, but didn't sound like her- she sounded a little older, not ten . . . uh, years was it? Human winters were so confusing. Maybe she was the same amount of winters as Faith, even.

"Oh, there you are!" Birch exclaimed, smiling. "I could have sworn you were over there . . ."

"Probably just some wild pokemon, Zigzagoons or something. What does Brendan want?" May asked.

"He said it was about your starters- which one you'd be choosing." Birch told her. "Three pokemon, three choices, but he does want to discuss it just in case he chooses the pokemon you want."

"Hey, I'm just gonna choose whichever pokemon likes me."

"So, you're letting the pokemon choose?"

"Yep!"

Their voices faded as the two humans walked away, and when they were finally out of sight, Faith beat her wings and propelled herself out of the bush.

"Watch the wings!" Skitty cried, tumbling out.

Faith didn't listen.

"Starters . . .?" she murmured.

"Uh, yeah, apparently some humans _breed_ pokemon to give to other humans as their first pokemon. Disgusting, but that's their issue, not mine." Skitty muttered.

"Torchic, Mudkip and Treecko, right?"

"How am I meant to know?"

"Cool. Hey, May said she was gonna let the pokemon choose, so doesn't that make her a good Trainer?" Faith asked the little kitten, who sat down heavily, cleaning her paw.

"To me, all Trainers are bad. They might start out nice and kind and all that, but then they see that your species isn't really that powerful and they turn bad. They start wanting you to do impossible stuff." Skitty explained. "Then they chuck you out like rubbish when you can't do it."

"You sound like that's happened to you." Faith said. Maybe that explained Skitty's hatred? Faith was just beginning to get a bit sympathetic when-

"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but I'm not telling you." Skitty said, sticking her nose into the air.

And then suddenly all sympathy was gone and things were back to how they were five minutes ago.

But hearing about the whole 'starters' thing kinda made Faith want to see if she could get a starter too. What? She might as well do something while she was stuck in this world, and besides, she hadn't got the first clue what happened to that Cludiant card she'd been holding when she'd been sucked into the portal-tunnel.

Maybe she could go on a journey to find it? It would certainly give her a good reason other than 'I just felt like it'.

But first she'd need to find Birch and his lab.

Since Littleroot obviously wasn't going to be the same as it was in the games (Lily described it as having literally three buildings and very few residents, while here it seemed to be a heck of a lot bigger) that meant Faith would have to continue to be sneaky.

And also possibly try to do just that with Skitty whining the whole way.

"Maybe I should try it." Faith said, saying the first thing that came into her head.

"Try what?" Skitty sounded incredibly wary.

"Getting a starter."

"Okay, I'll bite- why?" Skitty demanded.

Faith turned to her, and kneeled down so she didn't have to crane her neck down to see the kitten properly.

"Like I said, I'm not from this world- and the thing that brought me here has disappeared from my own hands, so-"

"Maybe you dropped it?"

"I don't think so; Dracos don't drop anything in their hands when they're in mid-flight. That's a proven fact!" Faith grinned. "So the only explanation is that the card that brought me here- the Cludiant card- has disappeared somehow. So, what I'm trying to say is this: I want to go on an adventure to see if I can find it!"

"Why the heck can't you just do this whole thing without getting a starter?" Skitty cried shrilly.

"Because I'm not a pokemon and therefore I can't really defend myself against animals who shoot fire and ice at me!" Faith exclaimed.

"You have wings. And a tail." Skitty said flatly.

"Which may or may not be useless against a twenty-eight foot dragon whose rage can level an entire city." Faith shrugged. "Among other creatures."

It was true, while her wings and tail could be claimed as weapons of sorts, they would be utterly useless if her opponent only got pissed off. She'd seen a Gyarados in the anime, and it had been so powerful it sank a ship and called several others who proceeded to try and murder Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket.

Faith really didn't want to meet one and become it's food.

So, pokemon were her only defense here because it was an unknown world to her, partly anyway.

" . . . You're set on this, aren't you?" Skitty sighed. " . . . Fine then, I'll come too."

"Wait what?" Now that honestly surprised Faith.

"Yeah, I hate humans and Trainers, but you're not human, so I guess you can't really be that bad of a Trainer. And if you say you're not a pokemon, yet you can understand me, that means you won't turn bad, right? So . . . I don't exactly believe you about the whole 'from another world thing' but at least you won't turn bad." Skitty told her firmly. "So . . . I'll help you out as best as I can."

"Does that mean you'll go into a pokeball too?" Faith asked cautiously. "Because if I do become a Trainer and you wanna be my pokemon, you'd kinda need one."

"I know." Skitty muttered, looking away grumpily. Then she narrowed her eyes and peered up at Faith. "Let's compromise- I'll get caught by you if, and this is a pretty big _if_ , you become a Trainer. But I refuse to stay inside of a pokeball, understand?"

So, Skitty was basically offering to be her Pikachu. Sweet.

"Sure, I was gonna let any pokemon I caught be out anyway, if they wanted." Faith shrugged.

"Oh!" Skitty blinked, or seemed to blink. "Then . . . alright then, thanks. Now . . . how are we gonna do this? Get your . . . _starter_. . . hopefully without alerting half the humans in this place to our presence?"

"Be sneaky? I certainly can't fly over this place, that'd draw too much attention. A human with wings, a tail and dragon ears? They'd go nuts." Faith mused.

"Well if you 'pretend' you're a pokemon-"

"No."

"Well, this one is really weird." Skitty muttered. "Doesn't know she's a pokemon, doesn't wanna even pretend."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

 **oooo**

They ended up darting from one building to the other, which was hard because, unlike the town which was at the foot of Winter's Garden, not one of the houses was even linked with another by some strange rock the humans called 'bricks' or something.

Faith tried not to understand it, because it only confused her.

It was strange- the amount of things she knew about the human world mostly centred around pokemon or things connected to it- like the TV, for instance. What? If she wanted to watch the anime, she had to know what a TV even was and how to work it! Also, the internet helped, but she hadn't the foggiest idea how to work a computer, and always had to have one of her human friends operate it for her.

Anyway, they darted from one building to the next.

Some, she found, were actually things humans called 'shops' (obviously Dracos had no need for 'shops' because, well, they didn't use the green thin-tree stuff they called money, heck most didn't even know what money _was_ ) and the rest were just homes for the humans.

"What does the lab look like?" Skitty asked, resting on her shoulder. Obviously her little legs couldn't keep up, so she'd just opted to sit on Faith's shoulder for the time being.

"It's . . . bigger than the other buildings?" Faith would have shrugged, but she didn't want to risk dislodging Skitty from her shoulder.

"You mean you don't know."

"Hey, like I said, I don't know much about the humans. I only know what my friends told and showed me."

"Which apparently wasn't much, but if they didn't freak out about a talking poke-"

 _"I am not a pokemon."_

"Ah-huh."

She continued darting for a while longer, until they finally came near to a larger building that seemed to be apart from all other buildings. This was probably the lab, Faith assumed.

"Think we're here." she whispered, just as she noticed Birch and May walking out the front door.

"Yeah, great." Skitty answered faintly.

" . . . Don't see anyone around. Do you?"

"Uh, no?"

"You're not looking are you."

"Why would I?"

"Nevermind."

There didn't seem to be any other humans around besides these two, so Faith stepped out into the light. Which turned out to be a bad idea.

Both humans reacted with shock, then interest, as if they were witnessing the birth of some new and special species. Faith guessed that maybe they technically were, because to them, like Skitty, she was a pokemon. Hah. No.

"S'up?" she greeted them, a hand up. Something Lily had taught her, to stop others from being so damn terrified of her.

This only seemed to confuse the humans.

"I never heard of a pokemon called Sup." May muttered to Birch, but Faith pricked her ears a little and heard it.

And promptly lost her temper.

"That's 'cus I'm not a pokemon, idiot." Faith snapped.

Birch and May jumped, and stared at her in complete shock. Great, she'd just made contact and she'd blown any chance of having a pleasant conversation. Nice going.

"P-pokemon don't talk, right?" May shakily asked. "They don't . . . all they say is their names, and make sounds, right?"

"Wrong." Faith heard Skitty mutter, from where she was currently clinging onto her back. "We do speak, you stupid humans just can't understand our language."

"My shy little friend says pokemon speak, but not in the same language as you lot." Faith translated helpfully.

Claws dug into her back, but Faith ignored it because the pain was pretty much just as if she'd accidently brushed against a sharp bit of grass too quickly. Basically, near-non-existant.

"Then why are you speaking, Dragon?" Birch asked. Faith could tell he was holding back panic and fear, probably because of May, who was completely freaking out so much she couldn't do much except for stand there looking like a gaping fish.

"I'm not a pokemon," Faith explained. "I'm a Draco."

"Is that a new species of poke-"

"Do I need to sing it in a song and dance and then spell it on a piece of bloody paper? I. Am. Not. A. Pokemon." Faith snapped.

"Yes, alright." Birch didn't look like he believed her, but he wasn't keeping back the panic much anymore because it was going away.

May still looked like she was gonna piss herself.

"Look, this is a nice setting and all, but I'd like to go inside and discuss it." Faith said. "So, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Um, yes, of course."

 **oooo**

Faith had to say something about these humans.

They were . . . well, much more open-minded than Skitty.

Speaking of, it had taken almost ten minutes to get her into the building, let alone the living room which Birch called a lounge for some reason, and when Faith had finally managed it, it had only been under the promise that she would take Skitty's training and _life_ much more seriously than any other pokemon she would 'enslave and force to fight to the death'.

But anyway.

Brendan had joined them after a few seconds of meant-to-be a hushed argument from the actual lab room where Birch did all his sciency stuff, but of course with Faith's ears she could choose between not hearing and just casually listening.

And so Faith had explained her story. And, shocking her because of the way Skitty reacted, they had believed her.

Mostly.

The only thing they found weird was the fact that there was no such thing as pokemon in her world except for games and cards and cartoons called animes and stuff. Understandable, because Faith still had a hard time believing that the pokemon world even existed. But she'd deal, for now at least.

"It certainly explains how you can speak to both us and pokemon." Birch shrugged, when she'd asked why.

"I don't 'speak' to them." Faith said, irritably. "I understand what she says, that's about it. And they understand you just fine, how do you think they take orders from you?"

"I'd rather not do that!" Skitty called, from where she was now trying to wrap herself in Faith's tail fins, as a barrier between her and the humans.

"Ah-huh."

"Don't steal my words!"

Those technically weren't even words, just sounds, but Faith let her have that small illusion.

"So what's it like living in a mountain?" Brendan asked. It seemed he was more interested in the landscape and how things looked in her world rather than the fact there was another world to begin with.

Maybe he wanted to be a . . . what was the word Cael had once used? It wasn't gardener . . . something to do with land and scrapes. Landscraper, that's it! Or was it landscaper . . .

Anyway.

"What's it like living on the ground?" Faith retorted. "The mountain's pretty much all I've known, so I wouldn't be able to describe it to you unless you could describe living in these buildings, on the ground."

"Fair enough." Brendan shrugged, grinning.

"You mentioned wanting to go on a journey to find this Cludiant card?" Birch brought them back to the main topic.

"Oh, yeah. I was thinking, right, Dracos don't normally lose their grip on something in mid-air, so maybe it was taken away from me somehow. I thought maybe I could see if I could find it." Faith said, and as she explained it to the humans, she suddenly realised how stupid the idea was.

Finding a card in a massive region? What was that phrase Thorn had once used, when the four of them had tried to find a mountain lion on Winter's Garden . . . 'Finding a needle in a haystack'. Obviously they found the lion eventually (the idea had been that maybe Faith's animal had been mountain lions, but, sadly, no) and it turned out to be the friendliest predetor on the planet. Or mountain, whichever came first.

But still, it seemed so silly now that she had a chance to actually think about it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" May asked. "I mean . . . well, let's say you do it, get a pokemon starter and go around the region. People would think you're insane, if they didn't freak out first. And then there's the fact that it's one single, tiny little card, and you wanna look for it in Hoenn? This is a pretty big region, you know."

As far as Faith knew, May wasn't a mind-reader. But she seemed like one, having literally said everything that Faith was thinking, only a little bit more . . . well, as if she was speaking to a hatchling who didn't know the difference between a mouse and a rabbit.

"May, be nice." Birch murmured. He spoke up a bit. "Though she does have a point, Faith."

"Yep, I figured." Faith sighed. "But . . . there has to be something I can do right? I mean . . ."

"Maybe . . . maybe Steven might know?" Brendan said hesitantly.

"You mean _Steven Stone_ the _Champion_?" May was suddenly like a little giggly girl, like how Lily got when some guy she 'knew' was on the TV (Cael and Thorn explained how she didn't literally know them, she just knew their faces well).

"Well, he does enjoy this kind of stuff." Birch mused. "Though he leans more towards the rock aspect of the myths and legends and such. He may actually know something, if you ask. However . . ."

Faith pricked her ears, curious.

"He is a little . . . arrogant. Hard to speak to, if you catch my meaning." Birch explained.

"No, not really." And it all went right over her head.

"Basically he's an ass." May bluntly told her.

"May!" Birch cried, looking incredibly offended. "I'm so sorry, Faith, she does this often."

"Dad, she does it all the time, not 'often'." Brendan said.

"Damn straight I do!" May cheered.

They moved off that a little while later, getting back on track. Birch suggested that Faith could go and see Steven Stone's father, Joseph Stone, to see if he could shed any light on the matter to start off with. Mostly because Birch didn't want Faith to get exposed to any sort of 'arrogance' that Steven had, whatever that meant (May said Birch didn't want her to pick up on his asshole-ish-ness).

Joseph, apparently mostly referred to as Mr Stone, worked in the Devon Co. building in Rustboro city, which was a few days' travel away from Littleroot on foot.

"I can fly, you know." Faith told him flatly.

"That would be nice, but how would he feel if a human with dragon wings landed in front of his building?" Birch asked.

" . . . Fair play, I guess."

So walking it was. Birch also decided to be nice and suggest that Faith be given a starter, some pokeballs and a pokedex, which saved her the trouble of asking and looking like she was desperate to be a Trainer even though she wasn't even human or pokemon.

And then came the hard part.

May had already made her decision- the Treecko had taken a shine to her, whatever that phrase meant, which suited her perfectly because she apparently loved to play in the trees (Birch said this while laughing, which confused Faith- what was wrong with playing in trees?).

So that left Mudkip and Torchic. While, as a Draco, she probably would have been more inclined to choose the Torchic, Faith actually felt more drawn to the little Mudkip who seemed too adorable for words.

The young Draco was literally about to say 'can I have a look at the Mudkip' when the Torchic suddenly puffed up, looking offended beyond belief, and then promptly jumped into her arms.

Well.

Okay then.

Faith was then given the Torchic's pokeball, along with five others, one of which she used on Skitty (who set herself free no less than a second later). Then she was shown how to work a pokedex.

"This feature shows the data of each pokemon you capture, such as their natures, level, HP or Hit Points, their stats, abilities, and the way the moves work in contests." Birch explained.

"Contest?" Faith blinked. "You actually have them? Wow, I thought that was an anime thing . . ."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"It sounds like you're interested, so how about you try entering the contest in Slateport?" Brendan suggested, holding the Mudkip he'd happily accepted (claimed he wanted the Mudkip to begin with, which made sense because, if Faith remembered right, it was Ground/Water).

" . . . Soon as I figure out what that means, yeah, sure."

Birch went on explaining how to get to a pokemon's pokedex data, and a few other things too- including a nickname feature that Faith wasn't really bothered about.

And also Trainer rules.

"You have rules?" Faith frowned, then almost slapped herself- of _course_ they had rules! Trainer weren't above the law, obviously.

"Yes, of course." Birch nodded. "The first one is no killing another Trainer's pokemon on purpose. If it was an accident, you'd get a fine, but if it was on purpose, you'd be jailed for life."

"What's jail?" both Skitty and Faith asked at the same time. Though Skitty asked Faith and, when she saw Faith had no idea, resigned to looking to the humans for answers.

"It's . . . a holding place for bad humans." Birch tried to explain further, but it was still confusing.

"Why would you hold all the bad people in a place where they can talk to each other and plan and learn how to do other bad stuff and all that?" Faith demanded.

"You know, she does have a point. Why _do_ we do that?" Brendan wondered.

"Good question. I'll ask the law enforcement at some point." Birch frowned. "Anyway, the other Trainer rules."

Faith waited eagerly.

"The second is that you can't catch more than one pokemon per Route." Birch explained.

"Uh, why?" As far as Faith knew, in the games anyway, you could catch as many pokemon you wanted in a single Route and onwards.

"Because idiots kept catching powerful pokemon, or ones who'd evolve into powerful pokemon, leaving the weaker ones to rot and in most cases overpopulate. There's a reason some pokemon are hard to find in the wild." May spoke up. "Bastards should have thought about what they were doing to the pokemon's numbers before they went and caught everything in sight."

"May." Birch hissed. "But . . . she's not wrong. Before the law was introduced, Trainers mostly went after pokemon who had better power, an example being Aron or Shroomish. Both evolve into powerful pokemon, so now both are rare in the wild, even in their natural habitats. Some make this law a little different, for fun. I knew this one Trainer who called himself Ruby, and he decided to only catch the first thing he saw in any Route. Some decide to only catch pokemon they haven't already caught. But at least this rule makes Trainers appreciate the pokemon they catch much better."

"It certainly does for me." Faith murmured. That meant she couldn't catch some of the pokemon she liked from the same Route, but so long as she wouldn't get sent to this 'jail' place, she was fine.

He then went on to explain some other rules, like how stealing a pokemon that already belonged to somemone else was illegal and wouldn't work anyway because the pokemon already had a pokeball, and also how stealing in general was a big no-no. Also how a challenge couldn't be refused unless you either had no pokemon conscious, or the ones you had were too badly injured. Or dead, in a few rare cases.

Birch also told her about a law that had been in place since almost the very beginning, from when the Gyms started up.

"You can't use HMs unless you have the Badges needed for it." Birch explained. "I'm not entirely sure how this works, but say you have the HM for Cut. You'd need one Badge to make it work, and if you try without even a single Badge, then you're breaking the law. The Association find out somehow, and you get arrested. Besides, the HM wouldn't work anyway."

" . . . I think I might have actually gotten that."

A second passed.

"Nope, nevermind, it's gone." Faith said. "But I need a certain number of Badges to use certain HMs, _that_ I understand fine. Just leave the technical stuff out."

"Of course."

He explained a few other things, such as the rules for a battle (which were obviously different to the card game) and went over the type web in case Faith didn't know it properly (which she technically didn't since the anime tended to ignore this a lot, as Thorn _loved_ to point out).

And then May challenged Faith to a battle.

By the law she'd literally just learned, she couldn't refuse because she had two very capable pokemon with her. But because May only had one, her starter, Faith decided to only use her Torchic.

So they made their way out of the lab, the back way was used because of Faith, and Birch led them to a clearing in the forest surrounding Littleroot town.

Faith was getting a bit sad, remembering the card battles she and her friends had (less than a few hours ago, in fact) when Torchic loudly announced he wanted a nickname.

Once Faith got over the shock of being able to understand two species of pokemon (because a Draco's ability to understand species was just limited to one, and Skitty and Torchic were completely different species altogether) she blinked and realised that Skitty seemed to share this want, but didn't seem to want to speak up.

"Both of you?" Faith checked.

The two tiny pokemon, a pink kitten and a fire-breathing chicken, nodded.

"Uh, alright . . . What would you like me to call you?" Faith asked.

"You mean you'll let us choose?" Torchic asked. He blinked, seeming a bit shocked, and then he grinned. "I'll be Torch!"

"You want part of your species name to be your name." Faith said.

"It sounds awesome, alright?" Torchic huffed. "Besides, when I evolve, it'll just be that much more awesome because I can shout some motto like . . . _TIME TO TORCH THIS PLACE_!"

Faith winced at the volume, and then decided that, yeah, it was a pretty cool name for a pokemon. So she carefully typed the name into the pokedex nickname function thingy, and then he was called Torch.

"Alright, what about you?" Faith asked, as Torch swooned over his new name.

"Uh . . . good question." Skitty blinked. "Didn't really think about it, I just kinda wanted one, you know? Same as Crazy McNuggets over there."

"Be nice." Faith said, even though she was grinning. "Hey . . . how about Skittles?"

"You mean the name you gave the card?" Skitty sounded shocked, as if Faith was suggesting she eat her own tail or something. "No way! I couldn't!"

"You seemed to like the name," Faith shrugged. "So why not?"

"Because . . . well, the way you looked at it, before." Skitty explained. "It was like it was something precious."

"It . . . kind of is, but . . . the name isn't really as precious to me as the card itself is." Faith told her. "So I don't mind if you use it."

" . . . Alright then. Just one question." Skitty said.

"Yeah?"

"What are Skittles?"

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Next chapter will be the battle, I swear. I just needed to name the two of them fast, otherwise I would have gone crazy calling them Skitty and Torchic for the next fifty chapters.

Green: You're gonna have that many?

Renny: This might do, if it takes this long to get to the two rival battles. Yes, there will be two, Brendan gets his chance to shine.

Green: Another question- you said this was gonna be in the manga world, but then suddenly you go and change the world to game, and you've got May and Brendan. Why?

Renny: Uh, well, I found I couldn't remember much about the RS Arc in the manga, so I basically just went 'oh wait, why the hell should I? I can do what I want, it's my own damn fanfic!' and then things just went on from there.

Green: Fair play.

Renny: I'm also eager to get to Faith's two other catches, who are coming up hopefully either next chapter or the one after, depending on how long the two battles last. Anyway! I'll put up the profiles of each pokemon currently in Faith's team each chapter, or I hope I can, and show you their natures and remind you what pokemon they are, because I'm gonna attempt a rotation team.

 **Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles**

 **Torchic- Male, Naughty, Torch**

Renny: That's how I wrote the data down in my notes, so it's gonna be how I write it down here. Anyway! I did try to keep as close to the natures as possible, but I'm probably gonna end up deviating a lot.

Green: Yeah, you did that with some of my team in Redemption, and Red and Blue's teams too.

Renny: Not by much, just enough so that I could make their personalities work. Read and review!


	3. Chapter 3- The Art of Battle

Renny: The laptop I'm using to write now (because my other one decided to screw up and made me lose all the files I didn't have saved on flashdrive) kinda decided to update itself in the middle of me watching pokemon _Destiny Deoxys_ , so I lost the original file for this chapter- along with the majority of a fanfic of pokemon _Colosseum_ I was planning on writing, but now it'll be too much work.

Paul: You're really lazy, aren't you?

Renny: What the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't be here yet!

Green: Oh, you go on about us giving spoilers . . .

Renny: Whatever.

Paul: Well they know I'll be in this at some point, so . . . why not tell them when, also explain the concept of contests in this world?

Renny: Yeah, no. I'll keep them guessing about you showing up- meanwhile, I'm taking the anime turn on contests, mostly because time doesn't move in my game any longer (something about the internal clock not working), so basically this is somewhat of a mix of game and anime. Also, because I like the anime concept of contests. Can you blame me?

Paul: No, not really. I've seen the game ones, and honestly, they don't seem very . . . showy.

Renny: Hah, even he agrees! Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon!

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Torchic- Male, Naughty, Torch

 **Boxed**

Currently none

 **oooo**

The battle began as it had been issued- suddenly, and very explosively. If that was a word.

Torch burst into action without Faith telling him what to do, which was probably good because, well . . . she had no clue what his attacks were.

"You what." Skittles said.

"Not my fault, I literally only know the card game and the anime gave the starters moves they technically shouldn't have had." Faith shrugged, watching as Torch dodged Treecko's smack.

If she remembered right, the smack was called 'Pound' or something.

"I think that one's obvious." Skittles muttered, pointing with her tail at how Torch was using his clawed feet to attack Treecko.

" . . . Slash?" Faith guessed, remembering the way the attack moved. She was mostly going off what she'd seen from the anime, so, whatever.

"No, you moron, Scratch!"

"You know a lot about this, but somehow you don't know what glass is?"

"It's complicated, shut up."

Faith shrugged again and turned back to the battle.

By now, Torch was doing pretty well, despite the fact that Faith was meant to be directing him. But, well, if he could do this well on his own . . . whatever, right? But Faith would need to learn his attacks sooner or later, preferably sooner if possible.

How did the pokedex work again? She'd gotten it to the nickname feature, surely she could get it to individual data . . .

There!

"His attacks right now are Scratch and Growl." Faith said, then blinked. "That's . . . kinda shit, actually."

"Sheesh, even the Nincada back home were better than this, and all they had was Leech Life or something!" Skittles scoffed.

"Nincada . . . Ninjask?" Faith frowned, recognising the similarity.

"How'd you know about Ninjask?"

"Brandon and Paul used a Ninjask."

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

Faith decided to at least try and pay attention to the battle. And when she looked at it, she suddenly saw that Torch wasn't doing so well anymore. Turned out the Treecko was actually pretty damn fast, and Torch couldn't quite hit him in time, nor could he dodge the attacks in time.

Faith ran through the battles she'd seen on TV, wondering what she could do with a pokemon who didn't even know a ranged attack, and then got an idea.

"Stand still!" Faith shouted.

Torch stared at her in shock.

"Are you insane!?" Skittles pretty much screeched.

"Just do it!" Faith called, ignoring the pink kitten.

Torch stared for a couple more seconds, and Treecko scored a hit again. He stumbled, losing his balance and almost falling flat on his beak, but righted himself and got into an attacking position.

Faith concentrated. Sometimes, if she was able to focus for long enough, she could see things that moved too fast for the eyes to follow. She didn't know if that was a trait in other Dracos too, but it was certainly useful if she was fighting an animal too quick to attack- and that's where the eye thing came in.

There!

Treecko, a blur that moved across the grass like a small and fast-moving bird, was making his way to Torch.

Faith waited for a second, and then opened her mouth.

"Half turn, use Scratch!" she shouted as fast as she could.

Torch didn't even give himself time to stare as he spun and Scratched at the air.

Treecko blurred into normal eyesight and bounced heavily towards May. He came to a stop and then tried to stand up, but all the speeding around and the sudden Scratch hitting him when he'd taken a quick run-up had hurt him badly, mostly because he ran right into it.

" . . . Okay, fine, that was cool." Skittles admitted, looking at the tired Treecko.

"How'd you do that?" May called across the battle field. "Beech was moving too quick for even me to see!"

"I can do that- see things that move quick." Faith explained. She decided not to mention that she had to concentrate to do so, that'd take away the advantage and also May wouldn't be as cautious.

And Faith loved outsmarting cautious people.

She could remember the one time when she and Lily had beaten the boys in a card battle- because, by some stroke of luck (probably because Skittles-card was in the Bench) they'd gotten Groudon and Kyogre in the Bench. Cael and Thorn hadn't had a Legendry yet, so they were both a little scared that the two Legendries the girls had would beat them.

Faith and Lily flattened them with single Grovyle card.

Like she said, cautious people were fun to outsmart- mostly because they set things up for more powerful opponents, and then they get their assess kicked by the littler things.

In other words, go Grovyle.

Anyway.

"Oh great, are you _sure_ you're not a pokemon?" May demanded.

"I'm sorry, it must have been some other Draco that almost crash-landed into another world. Can you point me towards them?"

"Right, sorry."

At least she was nice about it.

The battle continued, but this time May was- as Faith had hoped- much more cautious. Too much more cautious. She ordered Treecko to go slower, and he did, but with a lot of complaining.

This made it so that Torch could attack Treecko without having to worry about blinding speed at the same time, so basically the battle became as normal as it would have been had Treecko not been insanely fast.

They traded blows, Pound for Scratch, and the occasional Leer or Growl pitched in.

Torch- and by extention Skittles- had learned that while Faith's ideas did sound a bit more than crazy, they worked. So, when Faith had another idea, he went along with it without much complaint.

"Jump and Scratch!" Faith called. "With both legs this time, kick!"

May looked incredibly confused, bless her cautious little soul. Hah, see Lily, she could use that in a sentence!

Anyway.

Torch jumped into the air, just above the head-height of Treecko, and then kicked out with both claw sets glowing in the light of a Scratch attack. This sent Treecko flying in the opposite direction, smacking him against a tree and leaving him slumped.

Defeated.

"Yeah!" Torch did a spinning jump and a few victory laps. "THE TORCH IS THE AWESOME! Burning hot moves like mine are too much awesome for my opponents!"

" . . . Eh?" Faith blinked.

"I think it's something humans say, distorting their words to make them sound cool or something." Skittles sniffed. "To me it sounds like they're illiterate."

"Uh, aren't you illiterate?"

"I can read! Just not write, cus, you know, no hands and stuff." Skittles told her.

"Fair play, kitty, fair play."

"My name is Skitty. Skittles." she corrected herself.

May returned her beaten pokemon and walked over to Faith, grinning widely. For someone who'd just been beaten, she was incredibly happy.

"That was awesome." May told Faith. "When you enter that contest in Slateport, I'll be there and we can have an even more awesome rematch- but I'll win, obviously."

Oh, so that was why. She wanted a rematch and she wanted a damn good one, not just a bunch of Scratches and Pounds. Faith couldn't say she blamed her, the battle had been pretty cool, but unlike the ones she'd seen in the anime . . . well, it was less showy and epic, just kind of fast-paced and active.

Whatever.

After healing Treecko, and Torch too, May went to the sidelines and Brendan stepped up for his go- after Faith, he said, he and May were gonna have a go at each other.

"I've got two pokemon." Brendan announced suddenly. "So, how about this? Starters against each other, and the other pokemon we have against each other. Sound good?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" Faith shrugged. "Torch, get ready."

The little Fire bird bounced out onto the field, while Skittles frowned and tried to remember her own moves- until Faith put the pokedex in front of her to show her what she knew.

Faith wasn't sure if the game world (if she was even in the game world) worked like the anime did. Thorn had said that the anime tended to ignore a lot of game things, like how a pokemon could only learn four moves in-game. Personally, Faith was hoping that it wasn't an exact copy of the game world, otherwise she'd be a bit stuck on which moves were good and which ones were crap, and which ones to get rid of or keep.

Aaaand she was getting confused, so she'd have to ask Birch later on. If he could explain it without too many technical terms, anyway.

"Alright, let's get going!" Brendan called.

He sent his Mudkip out- a female, which surprised Faith a little- and promptly told her to use Tackle.

Torch jumped into the air and slammed back down just as she was under him, Scratching her back and a bit of the fin that was her tail.

"OW!" Mudkip snapped, then she spun and with an almost supersonic _crack_ she flung Torch off and into a bush.

"I didn't know Mudkip could do that!" May called.

"Most can't, but Muddy's special!" Brendan grinned back.

This was going to be very interesting.

It looked like Mudkip's thing was possibly short bursts of sudden power, if that fling was anything to go by. Treecko's was speed, so did that mean Torch's was defence? Maybe, maybe not, or maybe it was just some kind of lucky dip and Faith just got the one that did a bit of everyting in his 'awesome' way.

She wasn't complaining, though.

Torch jumped out of the bushes, grinning as widely as his beak allowed him to.

"My Fires are burning hot with exhilaration!" he exclaimed. "Torch is my name, and kicking ass is _totally_ my game!"

" . . . That's not normal, is it?" Faith asked Skittles, as the Fire chick burst forward and started trying to ram Mudkip with Scratches from as many angles as possible.

"As far as I'm aware, no." Skittles looked very weirded out.

"Well, whatever keeps him motivated." Faith shrugged.

Skittles failed to look impressed.

"Keep doing whatever you're doing!" Faith yelled to Torch, who nodded and dodged another Tackle from Mudkip.

She growled and jumped, probably aiming to get him from above (because nowhere else worked) but he only dropped back and all Mudkip ended up with was a Scratched face.

This did not help improve her mood.

"COME HERE YOU DAMN BIRD!" she screamed.

"My Fires won't be extinguished by the lashing waves of your rage!" Torch shouted back.

Faith winced as he was suddenly attacked by a very, very pissed off Water pokemon. To her, it looked less like some kind of Tackle attack and more like that one she'd seen, what was it, Close Combat or something.

Well, Brendan did say she was special. Maybe Mudkip had a different type or something, one that didn't get recorded or whatever the word was?

Whatever.

No time for that- Torch was starting to lose, and rapidly. Faith checked his HP and saw that, yeah, he was pretty much almost done for. She wasn't certain about Mudkip, but hopefully the Scratches from before had lowered her HP enough for one more blow to take her down.

"Scratch!" she called, hoping for a bit of luck.

Just as Torch raised his leg for the attack, Mudkip darted in and punched him- actually punched him!- across the grass, and then jumped on Torch when he landed and started pummeling him relentlessly.

His HP his zero, and Faith quickly returned the little Torchic before Mudkip could do any more damage.

"She certainly has rage issues." was all she could think of saying.

"Understatement." Skittles said breathlessly. "I know Double Slap, which is kinda the same, but . . . I mean, wow. Does she know Frustration by any chance?"

"What's that move?"

"Gets more powerful if the user's pissed off."

Faith winced. She really hoped Brendan didn't get the idea to teach Mudkip that move.

"So basically I think it's more like pure rage than power." May said, blinking slowly. "And now I'm actually kinda scared to fight her."

"That's why she's cool- plus, she's a Water type!" Brendan grinned.

There was something wrong with him if he thought a psycho Mudkip was cool.

"Anyway, this is my next pokemon!"

Brendan sent in what looked like some kind of purple flying scorpion- Faith felt she knew it, but . . .

Oh, wait, Ash had one in the Sinnoh season, how could she have forgotten? Gligar was _adorable_! Adorable when it evolved as well, but, she liked the Gligar better.

"Meet my- technical- starter, Shake!" Brendan grinned at her.

Faith raised a hand. "Does he know Earthquake?"

" . . . No? Where would I even get the TM for it?" Brendan asked. "Though that is a good idea . . . but he knows Dig, if that's anything. Partly why I called him Shake."

"Fair play, so long as you can't kick Skittles' ass with one hit."

"I'm not fighting a Flying type!" Skittles snapped. "I can't hit him from the ground!"

"He glides." Faith said, remembering what Ash's Gligar could do. "If anything I've seen is good to go on, not unless there's wind either. So basically he's grounded for now."

" . . . Fine, whatever." Skittles muttered. "You're not telling me what to do though!"

"Wasn't . . . planning on it."

The pink kitten nodded and walked onto the battlefield, and took up a stance that suggested that she'd done this kind of thing before.

Well, looks like the thing with the rant from before was true- if she'd had an old Trainer, he or she had clearly not done a very good job of keeping her happy with humans. But at least she was strong, maybe more than Torch. She knew Double Slap, for one.

Faith wasn't sure what level Skitties learnt that at, but if this place was as good at ignoring things like Thorn said the anime was, then levels didn't matter. Moves, however, probably did. Very much.

Skittles and Gligar stared at each other for a while. Sizing each other up, Faith guessed. She wasn't sure if Gligar was good enough that he didn't need to be told what to do, but if he was Brendan's starter, then-

They both exploded into motion at nearly the same time.

Skittles was just a little bit faster, being the groundbound pokemon, and zipped out of the way as Gligar went for some kind of attack that made his pincher tail glow a strange and violent purple colour.

Poison Sting, perhaps? It looked different in the anime.

The purple tail smashed onto the ground where Skittles had just been, and then he spun around to try and attack Skittles again, who was trying to sneak up on him from behind.

Faith noticed the small crater left behind from the Poison Sting and decided that maybe it wasn't as shit a move as Cael claimed it was. At least, it wasn't in the . . . claws . . . of the Gligar anyway.

Skittles dodged again, her speed being the main thing that helped, and did a quick backflip that made Faith kind of wish she'd bothered to do the pee-ee lessons with her human friends on the ground, not in the sky.

As Skittles backflipped, her tail slapped Gligar in the face and sent him stumbling back, rubbing under his chin with one pincher. This gave Skittles enough time to dash back in and slap him a few more times with her tail, and Faith realised she was using Double Slap.

Skittles flipped again, a forwards one (Faith couldn't remember what the humans called it), and smacked Gligar's head onto the ground. So, maybe it wasn't a good idea to piss her off if her tail was that good of a weapon, then . . .

Gligar, just before being hit with another tail smack, grabbed the bit where the tail was thinner and then hauled Skittles into the air. She went flying, and he judged where she was going to land and then both his pinchers glowed purple. Luckily Skittles managed to use her tail to smack his head and bounce away from Gligar before any damage could be done on his end.

So, what, his only moves were Poison Sting and Dig? Well, the only attacking ones, anyway. But he hadn't used Dig yet, so Faith considered herself- and Skittles- lucky.

And then he Dug into the ground.

"Sonuva-" Skittles started to snap, but then she yelped and dove out of the way when Gligar tried to attack her from underneath.

He seemed to hover in place when he came up a bit too high in the air, but then he came down when the skin making his gliding thingys started to shake a bit from the weight. Huh. So, maybe Gligar couldn't get very high unless there was wind because the skin making his . . . let's go with wings- the wings weren't very strong, so he couldn't hold himself up for long.

The wind would obviously help with that, then. It'd keep him up- Faith had seen a few Dracos on TV with wings kinda like that, the skin that made up part of their wings being too weak to do much besides hover or glide for a short time without the aid of wind.

She still wasn't sure what they were doing on TV, but whatever, at least she knew why he couldn't stay up for long.

Skittles shot out of the way as he tried another Poison Sting, and it created another small crater. Faith wasn't sure if Gligar were powerful or not- Cael, as usual, had complained about them (he complained about nearly every pokemon)- but this one seemed very good at attacks.

Cool.

Gligar tried several more times, and then finally used Dig once more. This time Skittles stayed still and watched the ground under her feet carefully, making Faith wonder if she was trying to sense movement or something.

Not for the first time, Faith wished she could use the sight thing as a sort of . . . X-ray thingy as well.

But she could use it on the ground. And Skittles didn't seem to be getting anything. Faith concentrated, and saw the ground shift just before Gligar came up.

Before Faith could warn her, Skittles seemed to jump and then suddenly her tail was smashing against Gligar's head as he came up out of the ground.

And just like that, the battle was over. Without a single word from Faith or Brendan.

Well then.

Skittles pranced over, looking incredibly smug. She sat down in front of Faith, smirking, and watched as Brendan recalled Gligar with a surprised expression.

"Huh . . . didn't expect that." Brendan said. "You haven't been illegally training that Skitty, have you?"

"No, I just met her a few hours ago." Faith told him.

"Well damn, that is one cool Skitty!" May grinned. "I'm reconsidering not having one now."

Faith decided not to mention how Skittles may or may not have had an ass of a Trainer before they'd met.

 **oooo**

A few minutes later, it was clear that Brendan's Mudkip had incredible rage issues.

"I didn't know Beech's tail could twist like that." May blinked.

"I . . . don't think it can." Birch told her.

"Maybe she's pissed all the time 'cus she's with humans." Skittles muttered mutinously, even as Faith tried to figure out how to work the Potion Birch had given her.

"If she was bred in the lab thing like you said, she wouldn't be pissed at being nearby humans." Faith said. "So it's probably something else entirely."

"Ah-huh."

When they went back to the lab (after Treecko had been peeled off the ground and his tail put back to normal) Faith decided to try and ask about how moves and stuff like that worked. Also contests, since she'd have to know if they worked like they did in the anime (Lily told her that contests worked differently in games, and also said they were slightly shit in the games).

"Pokemon can learn any amount they want, really." May shrugged, as if Faith was asking a stupid question- which, really, she supposed it did seem like one to them.

"But they still need to learn attacks, so basically they have the ones they know since birth, or hatching, whichever, but then they learn more as they grow and get stronger." Brendan took over. "TMs teach pokemon moves that they normally don't learn in the wild, though sometimes you do get a pokemon who can learn a TM naturally- that's why we have TMs, because we figured out what the moves were."

"So, what's the deal with HMs?" Faith asked.

No one had an answer for that.

Birch decided to pull up some past contests, and Faith saw that, yes, the anime variant made up the contests here. Thank the Stars for that, Faith wouldn't know what she'd do if there were like ten different types of contests she needed to enter at once or something.

"There are basically two stages- the first one where you show off a pokemon and its moves, like so." Birch pulled up a few examples. "This is called the Performance Stage. The second is where you do the same, but you also have to battle another Coordinator at the same time."

He pulled up a few more examples, and Faith's mouth dropped as she watched battles similar to the ones from TV, only much more real and epic.

"This is called the Battle Stage. The entire thing is overseen by the local Nurse Joy, as well as the local Gym leader, if there is one, and if there isn't a Gym leader, then the mayor. The third judge is Mr Contesta, and yes that is his real name, and he's there so that it's fair judging."

Sounded . . . simple enough. Faith had never really bothered with word explanations, she much preferred the ones where she got shown things- as Thorn said, she was better at watching and learning rather than listening and learning.

Maybe that was why she couldn't work the TV or computer properly. Whatever.

"There's also a very critical rule." Birch told her. "Besides the normal 'don't kill the opponent's pokemon', the pokemon that were used during Performance Stage aren't allowed to be used during the Battle Stage unless you have no other option, either because you don't have a second pokemon, or another pokemon that is trained for a contest, or for any other reason that's reasonable to the judges."

Fair enough.

"Now, repeat what I said back to me- as closely as you can- to show you understand." Birch requested.

"Uh, why?"

"To show you understand." Birch repeated. "Also because you're looking a bit lost, so I thought I'd try and explain what you forget instead of going over the entire thing over and over again."

"Uh, 'kay . . ."

Faith repeated back pretty much what she knew from the anime, which was basically the rules about the Perfomance and Battle Stages, and then frowned as she tried to remember- and mostly failed- the second bit.

Birch patiently re-explained the things she didn't understand or remember, and then, when Faith asked, he explained the entire thing again just in case. And Faith mostly understood, but he'd said that she'd work it out as she went along so it didn't matter if she didn't get most of it. He also explained the general rules of how the Battle Stage worked, which Faith already knew but didn't tell him that in case he wondered why.

And, after a bit more of watching contests (this was enough to get both Torch, who wanted to show off his 'mad Fire skills', and Skittles, who mostly seemed interested in a battle that wasn't purely based off power, interested in contests), Birch let Faith go with May and Brendan out to Route 101, so they could show her how to catch a pokemon the normal way.

"Normal way?" Faith blinked. "All you do is battle and catch it."

"Yeah, but still." May shrugged.

The first thing on the Route was a small Bug type that Faith's new pokedex- and Skittles- said was called a Wurmple. If Faith remembered right, from what she'd been told and the few Hoenn episodes she'd seen, Wurmple evolved into about four different pokemon, two from each stage.

Um . . . the first was Silcoon, which then evolved into Beautifly. The second was Cascoon, which evolved into Dustox. Four, two for each stage. But, as Thorn said, not as impressive as Eevee, which had seven or eight different evolutions for a single stage.

May decided to catch this pokemon, which kinda reminded Faith of the anime May because she had a Wurmple/Silcoon/Beautifly.

Treecko darted around for a while, dodging the constant String Shots from the Wurmple, which was male, and then attacked with Pound a couple of times. Mainly because May was nice enough to show her, Faith watched and took in when exactly she threw the pokeball, even though technically she didn't really need to bother.

And then May suggested that Faith have a go.

"Uh . . . sure?" Faith blinked. She hadn't expected to get a chance at doing this so soon, but at least it was better than just sitting around waiting for something to happen.

She glanced at Skittles, who shook her head.

"I'm too strong." the pink cat said, with a glance at the humans in the area. Seemed she was less suspicious of them after spending a bit of time with them, but Skittles didn't really seem that interested in making friends with either of them.

"Okay, so . . . Torch?"

"Yeah?" Torch grinned.

"Please don't hurt the pokemon too badly. Or kill it. I kinda wanna catch one." Faith explained.

"I can do that!" the Fire chick exclaimed. "I'd do anything for the girl who's allowed my Fire to become a raging blaze in the night forest, visible even from-"

"Oh hey look a pokemon go fight it."

"Right!"

Torch dashed off.

"Thank Mew for that." Skittles muttered. "I really, _really_ hope that he tones that down."

"Um."

Skittles sighed. "Yep, it's a false hope, but I can try."

"What was he saying?" Brendan asked.

"Uh . . . I'm not sure, something about raging Fires." Faith shrugged. "I dunno."

"You know, I think this is the first time I'm glad I don't speak pokemon." May admitted.

"I don't speak pokemon, they-"

"It's an easier way to say it, I'm human, okay?" May interrupted.

"Whatever works for you, then." Faith shrugged. She could work with that, just . . . well, maybe she should take her anger out on rocks or something, if people were gonna keep on assuming she was a pokemon or that she actually spoke the pokemon language.

"I got him!" Torch called from nearby.

Faith glanced over and saw him standing on top of a small grey dog with huge fangs, looking incredibly smug.

"Good job." she said, surprised. That was faster than she thought, May had taken a few minutes.

"Can I beat him up a bit more or are you gonna catch him, 'cus he's starting to wake up." Torch told her.

" . . . Get off him."

Torch did so, and Faith tossed a pokeball at the grey dog. It shook a little, and then stopped and clicked.

"That was less exciting than I thought it'd be, actually." Faith admitted. Nearly every capture she'd seen on the anime- even first ones from Trainers with one pokemon or something- had been much more exciting and had taken an episode or more.

"Most first captures are." Brendan explained. "Dad once knew this guy who started with a Mudkip, and his first capture was boring as hell. Half a year later he was chasing down a Tropius and the battle was awesome."

"I'll take your word for it." Faith said.

Faith used some of the supplies that Birch had given her before May and Brendan had taken her off to find a pokemon on the grey dog- which, by looking at the pokedex, she found was called a Poochyena- and then he stumbled to his feet and glanced at Torch.

And promptly tried to attack him.

Faith quickly grabbed the Poochyena and held him back, until Skittles managed to talk Torch down from giving the grey dog a huge talking-to like he'd done . . . pretty much since the second Faith had met him, actually. Yep, false hope.

Poochyena started yapping rapidly and angrily.

"Um, calm down, please?" Faith asked, wincing. He was yapping too fast for her to understand, but she picked out the word 'kill' somewhere.

Poochyena, eventually, calmed down enough for Faith to let him go- carefully. Though she used her tail fins to block his sight of Torch, just in case.

"So you caught me." Poochyena said, eyeing her. " . . . Wait, are you a-"

"I'm not a pokemon. I'll explain later." she continued, seeing his face.

"Right, sure. So, can I go kill the Torchic now?" Poochyena asked.

" . . . Uh, no." Faith paused. "And his name's Torch, the Skitty's name is Skittles."

"What're Skittles?" Poochyena asked.

"Nevermind. Do you want a nickname?"

"Well, if you're offering . . ."

"Okay . . . what's your type . . . Dark? The hell does that mean?" Faith did a double-take and stared at the apparently Dark type pokemon.

"What does any other type mean?"

"You know what, I don't even know." Faith told him. "Anyway, name . . . well, you've got huge fangs, so . . . how about Fang?"

"You're calling me Fang because I have big fangs."

" . . . Yeah basically."

Fang stared at her for a few seconds, and then smiled. "Cool- you name what you see, right?"

"Uh . . . yeah, let's go with that." Faith said.

"Alright then. Can I go kill Torch now?"

"What the fu- he's your teammate now, you can't kill him!" Faith snapped.

"But he beat me up." Fang protested.

"Yeah, he was supposed to- how else was I gonna catch you?"

"Asking nicely."

"Uh, is everything okay?" Brendan called. "Because, well . . . your Torchic's kinda going nuts. And I think your Skitty's considering letting him go."

 _"Don't you dare, Skittles."_

"Oh, fine, spoil my fun why don't you."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I'm not sure if this chapter's any good, but I managed to make the battles last for nearly half the chapter, so I'm cool.

Paul: A little over half, actually.

Renny: Oh, right. Sweet! Anyway, here're May and Brendan's teams, also Fang's personal stats. He'll be added too the team thing at the start of next chapter, and also I'll explain how fainting works in this world (since it's a Nuzlocke) afterwards.

 **May: Treecko- Male, Hasty, Beech**

 **Brendan: Mudkip- Female, Bold, Muddy - Gligar- Male, Quiet, Shake**

 **Faith: Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang**

Green: That Mudkip is the Hulk in disguise, isn't she?

Renny: She was based off him, yeah, only she doesn't exactly . . . calm down after a bit. Anyway, the way HP hitting zero works- here you go!

 **A pokemon's HP hitting zero in this world means what it does in the anime, manga and normally played games. However, if the opponent keeps on attacking after that, there is a huge risk of the pokemon actually dying, whether its awake or not. It is the Trainer's job to know when a pokemon can't continue fighting, which was made a lot easier when the pokedex was invented.**

Renny: Basically it's normal fainting, but it can die if the other pokemon keeps hitting- which, basically, was what Muddy nearly did. She has . . . rage issues.

Paul: So . . . are you gonna tell them when I get into the fic or what?

Renny: No means no, you impatient child.

Paul: I'm not a child!

Renny: In my headcannon, you're thirteen/fourteen, and either way I'm older than you so shut up.

Paul: I hate you already.

Renny: Mm-hm. Just before I sign off on this chapter, I'd love to mention- I now officially own a star named after myself! A birthday present from today (which is when I finished this chapter specifically) from my parents, which is probably the best thing in my life. Basically, Mom and Dad got me a star for my sixteenth birthday.

Green&Paul: Holy shit . . .

Renny: I know. I just kinda sat there staring for a while, and then I basically squeed for a long time. I OWN A STAR PEOPLE. Read and review!


	4. Chapter 4- Team and Mate

Renny: Kinda hope everyone didn't get confused with the concept of this world's contests- I also changed the contest mention from chapter 2, mostly because I decided last chapter I was gonna have anime-style ones instead, because, well, writing stylish battles are fun.

Paul: You also got the type of Muddy wrong last chapter.

Renny: I honestly thought Mudkip's type was Water/Ground, okay!? It wouldn't be the first starter to have two types! Thanks to a friend of mine, I forced myself to look it up and found that yes, Mudkip's type is just Water. I changed that, so people reading the chapter after it's been changed won't know unless they read this.

Green: Since when does anyone read the ANs anymore?

Renny: I read them sometimes. Other times I decide to be a hypocrite. Anyway, someone do the disclaimer, I'm not arsed who!

Paul: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Torchic- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

 **Boxed**

Currently none

 **oooo**

A small raccoon-like pokemon zipped through the undergrowth, zig-zagging so fast her form looked like some kind of miniture blur rather than a pokemon.

The bushes she'd darted out of were silent for a few seconds save for the rustling left behind by her sudden exit, but were soon distured again by a white bird pokemon that flew through the air like a shaft of lighting.

"Come back 'ere!" the white bird shouted. "That don't belong to you!"

The raccoon only giggled as she clamped her jaws tighter on her prize. The red object in her jaws was pretty and shiny, and therefore it was hers- everything pretty and shiny was hers. And besides, taking pretty and shiny things from others was just as fun, because it meant that she could show them _why_ pretty and shiny things belonged to her.

The raccoon dodged out of the way as a tree came up in her running line, using the zig-zagging motion of her path. It was how many of her species worked- it was a good way to check for things, and also a way to dodge out of the way of things that appeared out of nowhere.

"COME BACK 'ERE!" the white bird continued shrieking.

If he didn't shut up, the raccoon would turn around and bash her head against him- her head was strong, so it would hurt him more than her.

And he would never come back to get her new pretty and shiny thing ever again, because he would learn his lesson and he'd know that he couldn't beat her.

No one could beat her.

 _"HEY SPIKY THING!"_

What the-

 _"TORCH TIIIIME!"_

 **oooo**

" . . . I swear my entire team is insane." Faith muttered. "If I'd have know I would have gotten this kinda team, I would have quit before I even suggested it."

"How do you think _I_ feel?" Skittles snapped. "I have to deal with being caught agai- being a pokemon's pokemon."

The slip-up slid from Faith's mind as she scowled at Skittles for the ever-present doubt that she wasn't a pokemon.

"I'm not a pokemon!" she hissed. Which was silly because Skittles was the cat and not her. Hell she wasn't even a pokemon.

If Faith were anyone else, she would have probably given up by now. But she wasn't anyone else, and having human friends and watching the anime had taught her that not giving up was- mostly- a good thing.

Briefly she wondered if May and Brendan were having so much trouble with their pokemon, but then she realised that maybe she was only having issues because she could understand what they were saying. Ash had some issues with his pokemon sometimes, but not as many as she did- though maybe that was because he didn't have a steal-happy Zigzagoon . . .

"Shiny thing mine!" the Zigzagoon snapped, as Glider- the new pokemon, a Wingull- and Torch tried to get her to let go of Faith's pokedex.

Somehow it had been taken into the pokeball along with said Zigzagoon, but at least Faith had chucked the ball before Torch tried to burn her and the device completely. Faith still needed to make sure the pokedex was fine.

"Would you mind lettin' go, mate?" Glider asked. "I ain't really sure if you should keep that in your gob any more- it might blow up or somethin'."

"SHINY THING MINE." she repeated forcefully.

"Fires like the ones from my battle will rain down upon you if you refuse to allow the pokedex freedom-"

"Torch, tone it down." Glider told him.

To Faith and Skittles' surprise, Torch actually listened. Though that was probably because Glider was part Water and his only attack was Water Gun, so . . . yeah. But since when had that stopped Torch? He'd tried to take on a wild Sharpedo they'd found on Route 103.

You can guess where the battle had ended up.

"SHINY. THING. _MINE_!"

There was a _bang_ and then suddenly Torch came flying over and kind of landed in Faith's lap- on his head.

"Ow." he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Faith asked him.

"Beaten though I am, I shall rise up and conquer the demon that-"

"Basically yes." Skittles deadpanned. "Also I think Gollum over there used Headbutt."

" . . . How do you know who-"

 _Bang._

Faith cut herself off and glanced at the second bird to land in her lap. "Hey, Glider. Having trouble?"

"You could say that, yeah." the Wingull said.

"Maybe I should set Fang on her . . ." Faith mused.

The reaction was immediate.

"NO!" Skittles and Glider yelled.

"You put him anywhere near me and I will burn the fur off of his skin, leaving him humiliated and-"

"Okay I get the point, no psycho attack-dog, got it." Faith muttered. "Just an idea. So what do you suggest? So long as she's got the damn thing, we can't use it- unless anyone feels like getting body parts bitten off."

"You know how you said Dracos have tough skin and heal quick?" Skittles suddenly asked.

" . . . Depends on the Draco, but yes?"

"I think you know where I'm going with this."

Faith sighed.

Five minutes later she was on her hands and knees, wings tucked and curled up to appear less threatening to the Normal type she'd caught.

"Hey." Faith called.

The Zigzagoon turned to her with an evil and wild look in her eyes.

"Mind giving me the pokedex back? I kinda need it. You know, for training and stuff?"

"Shiny thing mine." Zigzagoon muttered. By now she'd let the device go, but she was now straddling it and glaring at Faith.

And by the Stars she could glare.

"You wanna be strong?" Faith tried. "That thing you're sitting on helps me help you get strong. If you want more shiny things, you're gonna need to get stronger- and you can't do that unless I have the pokedex."

The pokemon now looked interested, but still wasn't giving up her 'shiny thing'.

"Shiny things?" The Zigzagoon narrowed her eyes as she spoke. " _More_ shiny things?"

" . . . Yeah." Faith said, though it was hard to understand exactly what she was trying to say.

Probably asking if Faith would give her more shiny things. But whatever worked, right?

The Zigzagoon glanced down at the pokedex she was still sitting on, and then looked up at Faith. Eyes narrowing even further in concentration, she frowned. Faith waited. If this was gonna come down to a game of tug-of-war, Faith would win.

Mostly because she was bigger, but also because she was a Draco. Sometimes that gave her an unfair advantage, but so far she'd been happy to abuse it.

And then the Zigzagoon stood up, and before she changed her mind, Faith swiped the pokedex. Sighing in relief, the young Draco sat back and uncurled her wings to stretch them (avoiding cramps was hard when they were curled up, but it hadn't been her idea) and then opened up the pokedex and turned it on.

It worked.

The thing probably needed a new coat of paint and some other techo-stuff Faith didn't care about, but it worked to some extent and she was fine with that.

And, since she'd promised she'd get the Zigzagoon stronger . . .

"Your new name is Bristle." Faith told the pokemon. "Welcome to the team."

"Shiny things!" Bristle cried, grinning widely.

"Oh dear Mew, why . . ." Faith heard Skittles complain. "Why do we get the crazy ones? This is the third one, dammit!"

"We don't really 'ave much choice, Bristle _was_ the first thing caught on this Route, therefore Faith can't legally catch anythin' else." Glider soothed. "'sides, she is powerful- that's a good thing, right?"

" . . . Fine, whatever."

Faith decided not to point out that Skittles was probably half-way crazy herself.

"At least we're not near any humans though!"

The temptation was still there.

Nearly an hour later, they finally got moving- after finding that all attempts to communicate with Bristle about anything that wasn't 'shiny things' were completely useless.

"So, what's the limit on the amount of pokeballs I can carry?" Faith asked. "Full ones, I mean."

"Why do you ask?" Glider blinked, resting on her tail, which Faith had drawn up so she could talk to him while they walked.

"Well, I know that Trainers are meant to only have six pokemon with them, but I was wondering if that's a proper rule or just an unofficial one." Faith explained.

"As far as I'm aware . . . the 'six pokemon per Trainer' rule is basically just a guideline." Glider began, frowning as he remembered and considered. "In theory, you could probably 'ave several pokemon with you at a time, much more than six- however, the rule for battles is clear. You can only use six in one battle."

"Lemme see if I got this right . . ." Faith mused. Glider tilted his . . . head . . . as he listened. "I can carry more than six pokemon with me, but I can't use more than six in a battle. Right?"

"That's what I said, yeah." Glider nodded, smiling slightly. "You plannin' on 'avin' more than six at a time?"

"It'd feel slightly wrong not too." Faith admitted. "Since, you know, I can understand you all."

"Just make sure it don't get too confusin', otherwise we'd 'ave to go with the guidelines. Also, don't use more than six pokemon unless it's an emergency, and maybe we should carry eight or nine instead of everyone," Glider listed. "To avoid getting mixed up or crowded."

"Good plan."

"Once we get to Rustboro, May'll find you somethin' to wear that lets you 'ave that many pokemon at once." Glider went on. "Per'aps a bag or some kinda belt . . . the bag would better, if I'm honest."

"Sweet. I just hope she doesn't get the idea to give me those feet-things humans wear . . ."

"You mean shoes? They protect your feet."

"I lived barefoot on a mountain for twelve winters." Faith told him flatly.

" . . . Fair enough. Assumin' 'winters' means 'years', that is." Glider told her.

Oh yeah, humans had diferent way so judging age; years or something. So . . . basically to humans- and possibly some pokemon, if Glider was anything to go by- Faith was twelve years old, not twelve winters.

She should probably keep that in mind.

They got to Petalburg within a few more hours, which kinda made Faith glad because she didn't want to have to keep on dragging Bristle away from random Trainers she tried to challenge (though they all looked startled when they saw her wings, ears and tail but got over it quickly enough- they'd probably seen stranger).

And then in the pokemon centre . . .

"Banned!?" Faith cried.

Nurse Joy winced and then sighed, handing over Faith's now-healed pokemon.

"Beating up another Trainer isn't exactly . . . allowed." Nurse Joy informed her. "It's hardly even legal."

"But- the idiot tried to grab my damn tail!" Faith snapped.

"Well, yes, and I can see you're a _very_ dedicated cosplayer." Nurse Joy sighed. "But you can't overreact to it. After all, it's not like its a real tail."

Faith almost told her it was, but managed to shut up in time. Maybe that was why those other Trainers from Route 102 weren't startled for very long . . .

"Anyway, you're not allowed in here any longer." Nurse Joy said. "Because beating someone up isn't allowed. Even though it was impressive, since he was twice your size and older than you . . ."

"I'm stronger than I look."

At least she hadn't tried to fly and drop the moron somewhere. That'd just kill the whole thing, if everyone thought she was a 'cosplayer', whatever that was. Maybe Faith could ask Glider later?

"You got kicked out of the pokemon centre." Skittles said flatly, when she was taken out of her pokeball a few minutes later.

"Hey, the idiot tried to grab my tail. That's literally the worst thing you can do to a Draco." Faith shrugged.

"It's not like your species is really known- you're probably a Legendry or something." Skittles said.

"I'm not a pokemon, dammit!"

 **oooo**

They went on to Route 104 next, and Faith checked the pokedex to see what they could- or couldn't, whatever- catch. Though Glider was proving himself as useful as he was in battle with his knowledge of random stuff that Trainers should know.

And obviously Faith wouldn't know all that, so whatever.

Oh well, at least she had someone who did.

"So basically, Zigzagoon and Wurmple like everywhere else 'round these parts." Glider said, once again perched on Faith's tail. "I'm not sure, but I think Poochyena too . . . Taillow as well, though they're rare enough that most people don't really count them on this Route."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Alright then!"

Fifteen minutes later she'd caught a Wurmple.

Faith blinked and then thought of May from the anime's Wurmple, which had evolved into a Beautifly- it had been powerful, but Thorn had kept telling her that the anime often ignored game mechanics and that kinda made May's Beautifly a little bit . . . what was the . . . oh yeah, OP.

But either way, Faith was fine with her own Wurmple- which she called Spyke before realising that the pokemon was female.

"It's cool." Spyke shrugged, as best as she could without shoulders. "I kinda like the name actually- my Mom always said that my daydreams about having a Trainer who gives me a pokemon nickname were weird. . . . Wait, aren't _you_ a-"

"I'm not a pokemon and yes I'm telling the truth and yes I'll explain later." Faith said quickly.

" . . . Yeah, okay, that works."

"I suggest goin' to the Petalburg woods." Glider said, half an hour later after Faith had tried to explain to Spyke. "Pokemon such as Shroomish- and also Taillow- can be found there."

"Shroomish was one of the pokemon that lot mentioned that were rare, right?" Faith checked.

"Yes- it evolves into Brellom, which is a pretty damn powerful 'mon." Glider nodded. "Though you're more likely to find Zigzagoon and Wurmple, if anything else . . ."

"Hey, why not try dupes clause?" Skittles spoke up. She was chatting with Spyke (probably telling her how crazy Faith was).

" . . . What the hell's dupes clause."

"Ah!" Glider exclaimed, making Faith jump a little bit. "Dupes clause is a very good way of fillin' up the pokedex! Allow me to explain."

The team- minus Bristle who kept playing with the shiny rock Faith had gotten from the pokemart (Fang was kept away from Torch, but he was at least not-crazy yet)- gathered around Glider as he spoke.

"As you well know, the rules for catchin' pokemon is no more than one per Route." Glider began. "Some Trainers like to play with this and catch certain types, or whatever. I'm sure Professor Birch 'as told you already?"

"Yeah, there was something about a kid called Ruby?" Faith blinked.

"Correct! Some Trainers decide to make this rule fun by usin' the dupes clause- which is a fancy term for catchin' pokemon you've not caught yet. So . . . an example. Say you catch a Bagon on one Route, and you see a Bagon on another Route. You can ignore the Bagon and catch the next pokemon you see, provided you ain't caught one of its' species yet!" Glider waved his wing as if he was giving a lecture or something. "Simple enough, or should I try goin' over it again?"

"I think I got it." Faith told him.

"Then I suggest we use the dupes clause like Skittles said." Glider said. "That way, you can avoid catchin' another Wurmple or Zigzagoon. No offence, Spyke, but Wurmple ain't exactly the most reliable when it comes to evolvin'."

"None taken, mate." Spyke's eyes closed happily, so Faith assumed she was smiling. "We don't really have much choice over what we turn into- so we need to make the best of what we do evolve into."

"That's one way of looking at it." Fang tilted his head. "Most pokemon don't have a lot of choice anyway."

"Well since you've only got one possible evolution, I'd say that's true." Faith muttered. "But I always thought Wurmple could evolve into either Silcoon or Cascoon depending on what they wanted?"

Well, that's what the anime had said anyway. Maybe it wasn't the same in this world . . . or the anime had gotten it wrong again. But whatever, it was a good show, so it didn't matter.

"No, it's mostly random." Spyke explained. "Sometimes a Wurmple might figure out how to choose, but it's really rare, and I haven't figured it out at all. But! I love the fun of not knowing where my strengths will lie, so I'm fine with a random choice!"

"Pretty bold." Skittles muttered. "For a Bug type, anyway . . ."

"Bug types have the power to be whoever they wish!" Torch cried.

"Torch, shut-"

"This makes them the perfect partners and the worst opponents- because they have so much potential!" he went on loudly. "A Wurmple could be a powerful Bug with Psychic abilities, or a beautiful Bug that dazzles all! Either way you look at it, Spyke's potential as a Bug type is massive and awe-inspiring!"

" . . . I hate to say this, but I do agree with him." Fang sighed. "I still wanna kill him though!"

Faith looked at the scar parting the fur on his back and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In her opinion, the Scratch scar looked cool- but whatever, so long as he didn't actually try and kill Torch he was fine.

"Furthermore, the power of-"

"Okay, I think that's enough." Glider interrupted.

"Very well."

"How does he do that?" Faith whispered to Skittles. "He's been here for a bit over a day and Torch is obeying him totally."

"Maybe it's a bird thing." Skittles sighed.

Faith really hoped the next bird she caught wouldn't _worship_ Glider or something. Or worse, take after Torch . . . They didn't need two drama-kings.

 **oooo**

Petalburg forest was, to put it bluntly, overgrown.

Faith had been to the small forest surrounding the town at the foot of Winter's Garden, but never had she been through one like this- it was honestly more like a swamp than anything else.

"This ain't a swamp, Faith." Glider said. "A swamp would 'ave more water and mud- this is more like a jungle, I think you'll find."

" . . . I dunno what a jungle is."

And so they stopped and set up camp (because it was getting dark anyway) and Glider explained what a jungle was. Or, in this world what a jungle was- obviously it was different to Faith's world's jungles, as she was finding was true of nearly everywhere else.

Curling up, using her wings to keep warm, Faith watched her team do their usual routine for getting ready for the night. Glider had taken a bunch of leaves and had created a nest of some kind, and shared it with Torch. That was probably gonna be a thing with birds, actually. Skittles, as usual, had instantly decided that the entire world was too damn cold and had curled up under Faith's wings.

Fang still kept away from Torch, though he did growl several times (Faith eventually smacked him over the head with her tail and he shut up). Bristle . . . just kind of lay down with her shiny stone in her paws and went to sleep coiled protectively over it. Spyke curled into a miniture pink spiky ball-thing and went to sleep near Fang, if only to give him some company.

Maybe if she and Fang became good friends, he'd get over Torch attacking him?

Whatever worked, Faith guessed.

In the morning, Glider woke them up with seagull-like caws. Faith looked at the sun, judged the time, and promptly curled up again.

"Oi, get up." Skittles smacked her with her tail, but Faith only shoved her back with one of her wings. "Hey!"

"Oh, come on." Spyke sighed. "Is this gonna happen every time?"

"Yes." half the team chorused.

Faith kept curled up until she got hit in the face with Glider's Water Gun.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this crap." she muttered, rubbing her face tiredly.

"You don't get paid at all!" Skittles snapped. "And you won't unless we find some money-banks- I mean Trainers- to battle."

"What's a money-bank?" Faith asked.

"It's what you'll be if you don't get your ass moving!" Fang called. "Come on, unless you actually want me to kill the stupid chicken!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting up . . ."

Yep, her team was definitely crazy. Though they certainly did have their points . . . Faith supposed she should go over them now before she got too confused with the amount she'd probably get later one.

First, Skittles. She'd been cute and cuddly when they first met, but Faith assumed that was some kind of act or something. After being caught, possibly for the second time, she'd been a bit more than crazy-grumpy. But still, she was a powerful little thing, and Faith had made a deal with her . . .

Second, Torch. By the Stars, Faith didn't even need to say anything- the fact that he was so damn dramatic all the time just spoke volumes about how he was as a . . . well, not person, but whatever. So far he could back it up, and if Brendan's Mudkip had been normal, he probably would have won the battle.

Third, Fang. Quick to anger and quick to want to kill anything for revenge, he was actually surprisingly smart and level-headed when he needed to be. Faith knew she could probably rely on him in a pinch, but she wasn't sure what she was gonna do with the 'rivalry' between him and Torch.

Fourth, Glider. Smart and with a possible photographic memory (whatever that meant, Faith assumed it was a good thing) he was the best pokemon Faith had that she could ask about pretty much anything. It was also a good thing he was also more willing to share info about stuff Faith wanted to know about than Skittles, and he was also a good battler.

Fifth . . . Bristle. Faith honestly didn't know what to say about her other than the fact that, yeah, she was crazy, loved shiny things, and really damn strong.

Sixth, the newest of the bunch- Spyke. Yeah, she'd named her without looking at what gender she was, but since Spyke was cool with it, it was fine. And like Torch had . . . _said_ . . . she had a lot of potential as a Bug type pokemon. Whether Spyke evolved into Silcoon or Cascoon, she would be a good pokemon to have around.

"HEY STOP DAYDREAMING I FOUND A TRAINER TO BEAT UP."

Faith was jolted out of her musings by Skittles' call. The Draco quickly returned most of the team- Bristle, Fang, Torch and Spyke- and dashed through the bushes with Glider, well, gliding overhead to find Skittles facing someone very familiar.

To her, anyway.

The young purple-haired boy in front of her was smaller than she'd thought- the same size as Faith herself actually. He wore virtually the same clothing he wore in the Sinnoh seasons, and he didn't really look as cold-hearted as he did then- in fact he looked a little bit more . . . well, tireder. If that was a word.

"Oh, this Skitty belongs to you?" Paul said, looking over at Faith. "Sorry, I thought she was wild."

"Uh, t-that's okay." Faith stammered quietly.

What in the Star's names was _Paul_ from the _anime_ doing in this world? Unless this was the anime world and somehow Faith had screwed up the entire plot of the Hoenn seasons, there was something wrong here.

"I'm Paul." Paul told her. He was incredibly calm for some reason. " . . . This is the part where you introduce yourself? Also, please stop staring. It's . . . creepy."

Faith blinked and looked away for a second, and then back so he wouldn't think she was rude when she spoke. Thorn and Cael had taught her it was rude not to look at someone when you were speaking to them, unless you just plain didn't like them full-stop.

"Name's Faith." she said. "Uh, that's Skittles- the Skitty, that is- and this is Glider."

"Cool. You and your pokemon's names, I mean." Paul clarified.

"Thanks."

This was too damn weird. Faith was itching to ask where he was from, but . . . what the hell kinda question would that be?

"Are you a cosplayer?" Paul asked, tilting his head a little bit. "'Cus, I swear, no pokemon looks like that . . ."

"Uh . . ."

The trees above rustled suddenly, and then a green-ish pokemon with a mushroom-like head dropped down from them, landing next to Paul. It stood up to its full height and looked over at Faith and her two pokemon, and then looked up at Paul.

"Nothing." it- she- reported. "No signs of those pirate-dudes."

"So, we lost them?" Paul asked.

"Basically."

"Great . . . you think Motor and Storm could help at all?"

"They're Electric, not Flying." the Breloom deadpanned. "What good would they do?"

"They can read the electro-magnetism in the air and-"

"Wait, you talk like you understand her!" Faith interrupted loudly, too shocked to remember what little manners she had.

" . . . How do you know Willow's a girl?" Paul blinked.

"How can you understand her, unless you can just guess pretty well!" Faith shot back.

"I'm gonna assume this means you can understand her too?"

"So you _can_ understand her?"

" . . . Yes?"

This was getting confusing fast.

"Okay, okay, lemme speak!" Glider shouted. "So . . . you can both understand the Breloom-"

"Willow." Paul and the Breloom said.

"Right, Willow. Sorry. You can both understa- No, wait, your answer means you can understand me as well . . . So you both 'ear what we all say? All pokemon?" Glider checked.

"Well, I assume _I_ can- I dunno about him." Faith shrugged.

"I can." Paul told them.

"Well that's just stupid, because in the anime-"

Even though she cut herself off before she said anything else, Paul still looked interested.

"The anime?"

Oh for the love of . . .

"Never you mind." Faith said sternly. Well, as sternly as she could get given the situation.

"No, tell me, I'm actually interested." Paul said flatly.

"Hah, no."

She ended up telling him.

" . . . Somehow I don't believe you." Paul said after some seconds of silence.

"Yeah, Skittles is still having issues." Faith muttered, glancing at said Normal type kitten.

"Because you're a pokemon and you appear to think that-"

"I'm not a pokemon!" Faith pushed her off the log they had sat on.

"Oh, that is _so_ it!" Skittles hissed.

She leaped at Faith and spun so her tail could hit her, but Faith quickly used her own tail-fins to block and sweep the Skitty back effortlessly.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Faith told her.

"Wait until I evolve or learn some kinda elemental move," Skittles snapped. "Then we'll see who laughs."

"It'll still be me."

" . . . So the tail's real."

Faith looked up from Skittles to see Paul staring at said tail with wide eyes. Though he stopped looking so shocked when he noticed her smirking and tried to look as if he hadn't been so shocked in the first place.

"Of course it is." Faith said, slightly offended nonetheless. "I did just spend like ten minutes telling you my story."

"What story?" Skittles demanded.

"Quiet, you."

"Maybe you two should calm down." Glider suggested, flying in between them and settling down nearby Skittles. "Now . . . er, Paul was it?"

"Yeah?" Paul blinked slowly.

"What are you doin' in Petalburg forest?" the Wingull asked. "Most Trainers don't stay 'ere long, and considering 'ow you 'ave a Breloom, I'm goin' to assume you're not new 'round 'ere."

"We're looking for the pirate-dudes who tried to kidnap Paulie. Heard they were in this place." Willow said, trying (and succeeding) to look cool by leaning against a tree nearby.

"How many more times, don't call me Paulie!" Paul snapped.

"I'll call you that until you prove you're not a sissy and enter a damn contest. Wuss." Willow shrugged.

"Contests are a waste of time!"

"Like hell they are!" Faith exclaimed. "Have you ever even watched one?"

" . . . Well, no, but-"

"Then why are you so damn fast to judge?" Faith demanded.

"Because every time I see someone training for a contest, they always suck at what they do and their pokemon just dance around like fairies or something." Paul muttered. "So the actual contests themselves are probably worse."

"You have no life!"

"Oh, no . . ." Faith sighed.

"How did he get out?" Skittles asked.

Torch hopped onto the log and did the best glare a bird-chick thing could at Paul, who simply stared, confused.

"The battles and styles of a contest Coordinator are limitless, just as the potential of a Bug type is!" Torch cried. "For you to dismiss the pokemon Trainers who take the Coordinator path, it is a sin of great evil! Contests teach elegance, they teach you style and grace, they teach you to use combinations never seen before in regular battles! I for one hope to become one the greatest contest pokemon ever to be see, and if I can't do that, at least I can say I tried."

" . . . Is he-" Paul began.

"Yes!" Faith and Skittles chorused.

"Contests are by far one of the more challenging fights." Torch went on. "Gym battles are fine and all, but they only require a small amount of thinking- whilst contests require much more precision and style, the ability to know when and where to attack, how to attack, what would even look good, and imagination! Even a novice Coordinator knows this! You don't understand this because you have no imagination!"

"Seriously, he might need to see Nurse Joy or something." Paul said.

"You think I haven't considered that already?" Faith demanded.

"Because of your lack of imagination and ability to see past your own selfish desires, you don't know what living is like! Therefore you have no life!" Torch exclaimed.

There was a very long pause.

" . . . I'm done now." Torch informed them.

"That was . . . I'm sorry, I don't have any words for it." Paul shook his head. "I think I liked it better when I couldn't understand them . . ."

"That's a new thing?" Faith blinked.

"Well yeah, if you've seen me on this anime thing, then you'd know I couldn't understand pokemon." Paul pointed out.

"Yeah, I remember when I found him in this forest." Willow snickered.

"Don't you dare." Paul warned her.

"He'd just woken up, and he looked so damn confused, and then I came in to ask if he was alright-"

"Don't even think about it!"

"-and when he understood me, he was so scared he-"

 _"No!"_

"-the little runt pissed himself!" Willow finally finished.

Faith, and everyone else, burst out laughing.

Yeah, sure, Faith couldn't say much about her own coming here- but she hadn't been as terrified, had she? And Faith certainly didn't piss herself either.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Paul said mutinously. "See how you like just waking up in the middle of a forest with a talking Shroomish for company!"

Faith finally calmed down long enough to notice the actual issue rather than what was funny.

"Wait, you woke up?" Faith blinked. "You didn't get dragged here by some card like me?"

"No." Paul said, looking like he was glad no one was laughing now that they saw the issue. "I was asleep in my bed and when I woke up I was here."

"You didn't notice anythin' strange, like an anomaly or somethin'?" Glider frowned.

"Well, I did have this weird dream, but other than that? Nothing. I just woke up here." Paul shrugged.

"Hey, I know!" Faith shouted suddenly.

Everyone looked at her.

"We were chosen by the Legendry pokemon because this world is in danger and we need to save it!" she grinned.

" . . . Yeah, no." Paul said flatly.

Faith deflated a little bit. "Fine, be an ass all your life . . ."

"Ex _cuse_ me?" Paul demanded hotly.

"Right, let's ignore this fight for a minute or two." Glider interrupted, hopping between both Trainers. Torch moved aside to make room for the Water/Flying type. "Professor Birch 'as already suggested that we go to a man by the name of Joseph Stone, to see if he could 'elp us out. The Cludiant card may 'ave come from some kind of legend or myth, and Professor Birch thought that maybe Mister Stone would know somethin'. Per'aps he could 'elp you out too?"

"Why didn't we think of that?" Paul asked Willow. "I've been here for a couple of weeks already."

"Two weeks?" Skittles frowned. "It takes more time than two weeks to evolve a Shroomish to Breloom."

"I evolved to stop the pirate-dudes from kidnapping Paulie." Willow explained. She ignored Paul's 'don't call me that' and carried on as if he hadn't even spoken. "Just a couple of days ago, actually- and they'd already tried once before a few hours after he woke up."

"They tried kidnapping you twice and you're still looking for them." Faith deadpanned. "I thought you were meant to be smart?"

"I am!" Paul snapped. "It's just that I wanna know why they'd try and kidnap me twice- besides, Willow's evolved and I've got Motor and Storm too. They can stop the pirates from getting me."

"Well," Faith shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat. . . . Did I say that right?"

"How can you not know?" Willow scoffed.

"Oh, gimme a break, I only learned how to read like two winters- years- ago!" Faith huffed.

"Seriously?" Paul looked shocked and this time he didn't look like he was bothered with hiding it.

"I told you, I live on a mountain where it's considered weird if you want anything to do with humans- and reading is a human thing." Faith explained.

" . . . Your parents and family are just dumb." Paul muttered.

"Really?" Faith asked. "I never noticed!"

"Alright, you can calm down, no need to get sarcastic on me." Paul said.

"This coming from the guy who practically invented it . . ."

"Yeah, can't argue with that, Paulie."

"Don't call me that!"

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Originally I planned to have him appear in Slateport, but then I just couldn't resist shoving him into the Petalburg forest- which actually may or may not be a wood instead . . . whatever.

Paul: You just put me in and decided to screw whatever plans you had, didn't you.

Renny: I got impatient, so sue me. Anyway, Paul's team, and also the two new pokemon of Faith's team.

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Motor- ?, ?, ? - Storm- ?, ?, ?**

 **Faith: Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle - Wurmple- Female, Bold, Spyke**

Renny: Willow is actually the illegal Shroomish I caught in the game itself, which I swore I wouldn't use unless one of my best pokemon got killed. Which basically means Skittles, really- she really is a damn good pokemon.

Green: You caught an illegal pokemon even though you're doing a Nuzlocke?

Renny: Yeah, I got pissed off and forgot I was even doing a Nuzlocke and just chucked the ball and caught her before I remembered 'oh wait, shit, can't catch her'. So I decided to give her to Paul as a starter or something. Paul's waking up and being able to understand pokemon will be explained, either next chapter or the one afterwards, depending on whether or not I can figure out what to do with the Aqua Grunt in Petalburg forest . . .

Paul: That . . . was long-winded?

Renny: At least it wasn't Torch.

Torch: Speeches are my thing!

Renny: Wait a second, how did he-

Torch: The Fires burning within me tell me exactly what I can do- and even if I can't do it, I'll take it as a challenge and-

Paul: I take it no one but me and Green and you are meant to be here?

Renny: It's the Fourth Wall Room, of course not! Please tell me he isn't literally gonna be Squirtle . . .

Green: If anyone's wondering, Renny based Torch mainly off of Squirtle from _Ashes of the Past_. In case we didn't say before.

Torch: -but also, we're the best! And the way I see it, Fire types are the best because we were born to destory with beauty!

Renny: . . . Did anyone actually listen to him?

Paul: I did. Unfortunately.

Renny: Why?

Paul: I . . . don't know, actually.

Renny: Right . . . anyway, read and review! Please. Like I said, I wanna get this to the same review level as _Redemption_!


	5. Chapter 5- Blaze of Glory

Renny: So after some consideration, I've decided to try and do both of what I mentioned in the last AN.

Paul: You didn't consider anything did you.

Renny: Not at all!

Green: You have no shame at all.

Renny: Nope. Also, fair warning, I did actually forget to add in my Petalburg forest catch- so I'm adding him in here! Besides, it's not exactly like I could have caught anything from the exit Route 104 anyway. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Torchic- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

 **Boxed**

Currently none

 **oooo**

"Nice job on getting it- her, sorry- to evolve." Paul corrected himself when half the pokemon around them glared.

"Not really me that did it." Faith said. "She did the battling, I did the . . . well, hardly anything actually."

Faith's newest pokemon, who technically wasn't _that_ new anymore, flew through the air happily. She still didn't have a mouth, so Faith wasn't sure if she was grinning, but the beautiful Beautifly seemed happy enough.

The shimmering sparkles from her wings were amazing, too, so it was totally worth hanging around the place for a few days waiting for Spyke to evolve into whatever.

Of course, Faith had expected Paul to complain- but he actually hadn't, much anyway. Once Spyke evolved into a Silcoon, he finally stopped complaining totally and decided to help Faith out with finding some way for the currently-immobile pokemon to battle.

In the end, Glider suggested just getting Spyke to spam Poison Sting and String Shot and only use Tackle when they came across something that Poison Sting wouldn't work on.

And, after two days of being a Silcoon, Spyke had finally evolved and now she was a Beautifly.

 _Totally_ worth the few days' wait.

"You know, seeing this . . ." Paul began. "It kinda makes me wanna enter a contest just to see if I can beat her . . ."

"So long as you get into one, Paulie."

"For the love of-"

"'ow about we all get out of 'ere now?" Glider suggested, while Paul quietly fumed. "After all, it ain't like Mister Stone is gonna stay still while we wander 'round 'ere."

So they decided to go.

For Faith, getting out of the forest was a bit strange- they'd spent a long time in there, and even with someone who'd spend half his time practically living in the place, they'd gotten lost several times. Now they all stood, watching the sun rise just over a huge lake. According to Paul and Glider, Rustboro city was a few miles north of the lake in front of them, which was called Berry Lake because of the berries that grew around it no matter the season.

"If we actually find some, we'd better hope they're useful." Paul sighed, as they made their way around the shoreline. "Oran berries are good and all, but they're not as good as Sitrus berries are."

"Pecha and Cheri are good berries as well- Pecha cures Poison, which was a big issue in that forest," Glider explained. "And Cheri berries cure Paralysis, which is probably gonna be an issue at some point no matter what we do."

"I'll assume this region has tonnes of Electric types and leave it at that." Faith said.

"Well it _does_ have an Electric Gym . . ." Paul trailed off thoughtfully.

"What, you never battled him?" Faith asked.

"I did, but he was weird- I'm just hoping this world's Wattson isn't as crazy."

Faith briefly remembered the Wattson from the anime and thought that maybe Paul didn't really have to give him grief; Wattson seemed pretty normal, if a bit obsessed with lame puns. And Raikou.

She decided not to mention this, though.

"Faith said you had a Torterra in this anime thing." Skittles muttered, a while later. "You've only got like three pokemon, and not one of them is a Torterra."

"Uh . . . yeah, when I went to sleep I didn't have any pokemon, so obviously I wouldn't have Torterra with me." Paul huffed, rolling his eyes to the sky.

"Well, no need to say it like I'm a moron, I only wanted to know where your starter was!" Skittles snapped. "Idiot human . . ."

"If there's some way I can turn off this 'understand pokemon' thing, I'll be glad." Paul sighed.

"I won't." Faith frowned. "Then no one else will hear them and I'll look like a moron. If we both understand them, we can look like morons together."

"You want morons? Go find Ash." Paul told her.

"He's actually quite intelligent, you know."

"This coming from the dragon-girl who can hardly read."

"You know damn well that I-"

 _Booosh!_

Faith cut herself off when a small something suddenly dropped in front of them, and then exploded into a huge cloud of black smoke that quickly swallowed the group. Her first thought was that it was some kind of attack, maybe Haze or Smokescreen, but for some reason it just didn't feel like a pokemon attack.

"Please tell me this place doesn't have those idiots from Team Rocket as well!" Paul coughed.

She could just barely see him covering his mouth with his sleeve, one eye closed and the other only half-closed. Probably looking out in case they got attacked, but her sight was better than his, so Faith could have both eyes open no problem.

She still couldn't see through the cloud very well, though.

"If this is Team Rocket, we can kick their asses easy!" Faith declared.

"Team _Rocket_? When we're done, you'll wish it was those dreamless fools!"

" . . . Okay, not Team Rocket then." Faith muttered.

"Hey, you've got wings, blow this smoke away!" Paul cried.

Suddenly realising that she had the best chance of doing so, considering that one of her birds didn't even _have_ wings and the other one was too small to do much, Faith spread her wings-

And promptly screeched in pain when some kind of attack hit her square in the back.

"Faith!" Paul shouted. He actually sounded like he was worried.

He didn't need to be.

Faith got back up less than a second later and tried again- this time succeeding, probably because whoever attacked her was so shocked she even managed to stand back up so soon. Beating her wings as best as she could while also trying to fight the instinct to just fly off and leave everyone in the dust, or smoke in this case, Fauth eventually managed to get rid of the smoke to the point where they could see.

Though some of it was still left, blackening the scenery, Faith slumped and panted. It was harder than she'd thought to do that kind of thing, then.

"You just took a Water Pulse to the back like it was nothing and flapping away smoke tired you out?" Paul practically snapped. "How does that even work?"

"It's . . . complicated . . ." Faith muttered.

"Oh so you go mad at _me_ for using that excuse-"

" _Oh_ shut up!"

"Crawdaunt, hit them again, and this time don't miss!"

Faith almost pointed out that he didn't miss the last time, but then she realised the actual problem- the attack hadn't even been aimed at her.

"Paul-move- _now_!" she snapped quickly.

"What-"

She barreled into him and knocked him down just as the next Water Pulse came at them and it sailed over their heads and almost hit some wild pokemon before flying off into the lake, and then she deflected the third one with a flick of a wing. It shot up into the air and exploded, sending a small shower everywhere that cleared up the rest of the smoke.

"What the heck!?" Paul yelped. "Were they trying to- Oh, Willow, I found the pirate people."

"Huh. So that's where they went." the Breloom blinked.

Faith stood up, keeping an eye on the pirate people, and spread her wings as threateningly as she could. Since she was wet from the first Water Pulse and the one she'd deflected, Faith imagined she didn't look at all terrifying. But still, black wings and tail spread out, she probably looked like she could do some damage. Hey, she couldn't exactly tell what others thought of her, could she?

"Hey, moron human, you're the only one with Electric types- do something!" Skittles barked out.

"Gimme a chance, you overgrown Ratatta . . ." Paul muttered. "Got them!"

He threw the two pokeballs, and out came Motor, his Plusle, and Storm, his Minun. Faith had been a bit surprised that he'd managed to find the two Electric types, but he said that someone had left them in the forest and he'd just caught them because Willow had threatened to spam Stun Spore on him until he did.

And right now they were all glad he'd caught them.

"Thundershock!" Paul ordered.

"Thunder and-" Motor began.

"-lighting storm!" Storm finished.

The Crawdaunt was down within seconds.

The pirate people, who all had some kind of Water type- Faith saw what looked like a weird, blue and fuzzy Dewgong, but she wasn't sure what it was- promptly ordered their pokemon to attack.

" . . . Does anyone know Protect, by any chance?" Paul asked, looking at the oncoming wave of attacks.

"No." everyone answered.

"Thought not. Deflect with your own attacks!" he called.

"You want me to Punch an Ice Beam!?" Willow snapped. "I'm half Grass, you idiot!"

"Bullet Seed, then!"

Faith quickly sent out any of her team who even _had_ a ranged attack- Torch, Spyke and Glider were the only ones- and then looked at Skittles.

"Do you know Assist?" she asked.

"Who the hell do you think I am?"

Skittles used Assist.

Two Embers, a Water Gun, a Bullet Seed, a Gust and a double Thundershock pushed back the not-very-diverse amount of attacks the pirate people sent their way. Faith gussed it was mostly the work of the Fire, Grass and Electric attacks that did it, but with the others added in, the deflection was pulled off pretty easily.

"We should probably run." Faith suggested. "Or fly, if you want."

"No." Paul told her firmly. "No flying."

"Oh come on, I won't drop you. It's basically impossible for a Draco to-"

"I said no!"

He didn't like flying? It explained why he didn't have any big birds, or at least none that were shown in the anime, but that didn't exactly explain why he'd been in a hot air balloon. Maybe it was just flying with wings or something.

"Fine, we'll run." she muttered.

"We're not doing that either." Paul said, turning back to the battle with a glare that reminded Faith more of how he was in the anime rather than the tired-and-exasperated boy she was with at the moment.

Then she realised what he'd said.

"The hell we aren't!" she cried.

"Hey, me and Willow have been trying to find these guys for a while- I wanna know why they're so desperate to catch me that they'd try twice!" Paul sounded very determined . . .

. . . but of course, Faith didn't really want to stick around and she'd rather not have his blood on her hands. Especially since neither of them were from this world.

" . . . Fine." Faith sighed. "But if-"

 _Swoosh._

"Oh come on, what now!?" Skittles yelled.

Something small and black thing was zipping around the place now, and then suddenly a few of the opposing pokemon were knocked into the water. Of course, being Water types, this didn't do much. But they were still stunned enough that they just floated for a few seconds.

The small and black thing knocked over a few more pokemon and pirate people and then shot into the air. Faith snapped out of her shock and remembered her ability, and then concentrated.

There!

The small and black thing was coming back down, and she could just about see it coming. As it got closer, too fast for anyone but her to see, Faith recognised the pokemon.

"Taillow." she said, surprised. "Glider, do Taillow live here?"

"Er . . . they used to, but overcatchin' made them move further into Petalburg forest." Glider explained. "Wonder what made this one come out . . ."

"That thing's moving too fast, how did you even guess what it was?" Paul asked.

"I didn't, I saw it."

Paul looked like he wanted to ask what she meant, but then the Taillow dive-bombed the few pokemon not stunned in the water, and they all went flying somewhere over the trees nearby. Paul instantly shut up and watched, eyes wide.

The bird stopped and hovered for a few seconds, and then landed, wings spread in a strange attacking position Faith had only ever seen used by the elder Dracos.

"I believe humans say that attacking defenceless children is not honorary." he said. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, Team Aqua."

"That damn Taillow again!" one of the pirates snapped. "How many more times is that thing gonna show up!?"

'Again'?

And did he say Team Aqua?

"I care not if you wish to know why these buffoons seek you out, boy!" the Taillow shouted, looking back at Paul. "Make your escape quickly!"

"But I-"

"GO NOW!" the bird snapped.

Faith grabbed all the pokeballs she had- besides Skittles', because even if they were facing a bunch of idiots from Team Aqua of all people, she didn't want to get Double Slapped into next week- and returned her team. Skittles, for once not arguing, jumped onto Faith's shoulder.

"Return Willow and the twins, now." Faith commanded.

"What? I don't take orders from you!" Paul barked.

"Like hell you don't!"

"Oh for the love of Groudon, we'll just do it ourselves!" Willow shouted.

She snatched Motor and Storm's pokeballs and returned them herself, and then returned herself. Before the twins' pokeballs dropped to the ground Paul grabbed them and put them back on his belt, and then he yelped when Faith suddenly grabbed his arms.

"Wait- wait a second, hold on!" he cried.

Faith ignored him and spread her wings, quickly extending her tail fins for the first time in a few days.

"Holy shit, those things _are_ real!" one of the Aqua Grunts exclaimed in shock.

"No, Faith, don't-"

Faith took off.

 **oooo**

" . . . Please stop screaming."

"-AAAAAAAAAAAA-"

"Paul, seriously, you're distracting me."

 _"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"_

Faith sighed and looked at the ground, trying to figure out where she could land. In the distance she could see the city they were meant to go to, but she obviously couldn't land there without casuing a huge problem or whatever the humans called it.

"Dragon's Child!"

She jerked in mid-air, almost dropping the still-screaming Paul and almost dislodging Skittles, and then glanced back.

"Follow me." the Taillow said over the wind.

"Uh . . . right!"

The bird pokemon flew off, and Faith followed.

"Is the boy well?" he asked, glancing down at Paul.

"I . . . think he's scared of flying or something." Faith said.

"I'M NOT SCARED I'M FREAKING _TERRIFIED_ THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!" Paul yelled.

"Must be bad if you're actually willing to admit it." Faith mused.

"YES IT IS!"

"I do not see why you shout." Taillow tilted his head. "The wind can be harsh in the air, yes. However, not so much that you need to shout. Not at the moment."

"SORRY IF I'M THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT WINGS!"

"He feels the need to shout because he's scared." Faith explained, when the Taillow turned back to her, looking confused. "My friends taught me that."

"Hey, I don't have wings." Skittles said, frowning at Paul.

"I think he's a bit busy to consider you right now." Faith told her.

"Well, he's an idiot then."

 _You've been calling any human we_ meet _an idiot,_ Faith thought.

"Then perhaps we should land." Taillow said. "The boy does not look as though he can take much more of this fear."

"Yeah, sure."

Taillow took them to a small clearing, just a couple of miles away from Rustboro city. Which was good, because it meant that they wouldn't have to walk for very long to get there.

Even before Faith landed, Paul started flailing around and she had to let him go before he actually punched her in the face or something. He landed and actually collapsed to his knees, sighing and muttering something about 'praise Jirachi'.

"Man," Faith said as she landed and folded her wings slightly. "You really don't like flying, do you?"

"You think?" Paul snapped. "Holy Mew, I'm never doing that again even if I'm about to fall into a volcano . . ."

" . . . What the hell happened? You entered a PokeRinger thing once, right? That involves balloons, which involves flying." Faith asked.

"Uh . . . something happened." Paul winced and turned away. "A-after the PokeRinger competition."

Faith waited. "Well?" she prompted, after getting nothing but silence.

"I do not believe he wishes to speak of it." Taillow said.

"Right . . . Oh yeah, I never thanked you for helping us out." Faith turned back to the little bird and crouched down, coiling her tail around her legs to keep it out of the way. "Thanks, Taillow."

"You were pretty good." Skittles said, coming over. "Glider would have a field day with you, I'll bet . . ."

"What does that mean?" Faith asked.

"Means he'll enjoy talking to Taillow." Skittles said flatly.

Faith sent Glider out, and then after a second of consideration, sent out Spyke too- she was a Flying type too, now.

"You lived in the Petalburg forest, yeah?" Glider asked.

"That is correct." Taillow nodded.

"Well . . . what exactly are you doin' in Route 104? Not many Taillow come 'ere any more."

"True, we do not." Taillow agreed. "However . . . the Team Aqua Grunts I fought off have already tried several times to take the boy currently getting re-introduced with his dinner."

"He's doing what now." Faith deadpanned.

Looking back, she could see that Paul was indeed vomiting. Spyke had decided to take pity and was rubbing his back with her small arms.

"Huh. I don't think I've ever seen a human be sick before . . ." Faith said, slightly fascinated.

"This interests you?" Skittles sounded disgusted. "Ew, are you a Legendry or just some-"

"I'm not a pokemon!"

"Indeed she is not. Faith, if that is your name-" Faith nodded and he carried on. "-Faith is a Child of the Dragon. A Dragon's Child, if you will."

"How do you know that?" Faith asked.

"Some colonies of pokemon have Legends and Myths." Taillow began. "My own colony has several- one of which tells the tale of two children, one human, the other half Dragon, from two different realities, chosen by a higher order. One is a Child of Creation, and the other is a Child of the Dragon. Creation's Child and Dragon's Child."

"So, wait, your crazy idea about the two of you being chosen or something was actually _right_?" Skittles demanded.

"I'm not sure how I'm meant to feel about this." Faith blinked.

She looked up as Paul sort of stumbled over and sat down heavily, carefully taking several deep breaths. Spyke landed on his head and, looking worried, glanced at Faith.

"I think he might be ill." she said.

"I'm fine." Paul sighed. "So, uh . . . what's this about Dragon's Child and stuff?"

Taillow explained the Legend/Myth again, and by the time he was done, Paul looked like he'd rather be somewhere else.

"So now I know how Ash feels, getting involved in prophecies and stuff . . ." he muttered. "Reggie told me he got involved in time travel once- is that what happened here?"

"Well if that's true, then why is this world so different to the anime one? Your world, sorry." Faith pointed out. "I mean, first off there's no random city in the middle of Petalburg forest. Second, Team Aqua is here, and if I remember right, Ash stopped them."

"Huh . . . well, that explains the stuff that happened a year or two ago in Hoenn." Paul murmured. "But . . . I guess this means time travel wasn't involved."

Taillow spoke up. "Both were apparently chosen because of their ignorance of both this realilty and their own."

"I'm not ignorant!" Paul probably would have puffed up if he were a cat or something.

"You actually are." Faith informed him. "The way you treated your pokemon? That's called being ignorant to living beings, in case you didn't know. Hell, even I know that, and I live on a mountain!"

"You use that excuse for practically everything." Paul told her flatly.

"And I can because it's true." Faith said firmly, because, really, it was true.

"Fair enough."

There was a series of flashes of the rest of the pokemon with them decided to let themselves out.

Bristle walked over to Taillow, examined him and then sniffed and walked off, muttering 'shiny things' to herself. Faith could just about see the shiny rock buried in her spiky fur. Torch came over and inspected Taillow, and then grinned.

"I sense a kindred spirit!" he said. "The way you moved was astounding, the way you defeated our opponents was impressive! In honour of Fire types and Flying types all over, I challenge you to a duel!"

"A duel?" Taillow suddenly grinned back, looking evil. "I believe you do not understand the challenge you have made- I am the best in the forest!"

"Prove it, bird of the skies!" Torch cried. "Prove to me, a bird of the ground, that you are indeed the best. In battle we meet, and in battle we discover everything about ourselves!"

" . . . I swore the next bird I'd meet wouldn't be a drama-king like Torch, and somehow the Stars manage to screw me over." Faith muttered, running a hand through her hair.

"I kinda remember you mentioning something like that." Paul sighed. "But at least this'll be a good battle, right? We can see how a Fire type with ranged attacks takes on a Flying type that's fast but can't use ranged attacks."

" . . . I think I understood that."

"Better than trying to fight Fighting fighting styles." he shrugged.

"What?"

"My point exactly."

Faith yelped and ducked as a ball of Ember suddenly shot overhead, and she and the others in the small clearing backed away from Taillow and Torch as their battle began.

Taillow seemed to be more inclined to hit-and-run tactics. That was great and all, because of how fast many Taillow- and their evolution, Swellow- seemed to be, but there was one problem with that. If Taillow got caught by his opponent, he probably wouldn't be able to take the hit.

Sometimes the opponent was just too fast to do a hit-and-run on.

Torch spun around spitting a few Embers, and Faith, quickly concentrating just in case Torch needed some help, could see Taillow effortlessly dodging each and every ball of fire that came his way.

Taillow moved in, and before Faith could even think about warning Torch, he hit her starter with a Peck and then ascended into the trees nearby.

"My opponent is fast and furious- so that means I should be even more so!" Torch cried. "Ember Hurricane!"

"Is that basically Fire Spin using Ember?" Paul asked.

"Hell if I know, he just does whatever he wants half the time. Kinda like a certain Skitty I know . . ." Faith trailed off, giving Skittles a brief glare.

"Well, excuse me if you don't remember half my attacks." Skittles scoffed.

Taillow managed to dodge out of the way, but some of the flames caught his tail feathers and he squawked in pain and anger. He climbed rapidly into the sky, so high that Faith could only just about see him, and then suddenly froze and spun in mid-air and rocketed down, his beak glowing with the light of a Peck attack.

"That'd be a good move for a contest." Faith commented, watching his descent.

"What would?"

"He just kind of twisted and-"

Taillow used Peck.

The result was a huge _bang_ and a massive gust of wind and smoke-dust that almost blew anyone who couldn't fly away.

"What in the name of Jirachi's Tags was that!?" Paul cried.

"I think it was some kind of overpowered dive!" Glider called. "Though to be honest, I wasn't actually sure . . ."

"It was." Faith told them. "Like I was saying, he flew up and then twisted, and then dive-bombed Torch with Peck at full speed."

"That's one damn good bird." Willow said, slightly stunned. "When he said he was the best, he wasn't kidding, was he?"

"Must have been good if it impressed you." Paul observed.

"Oh shut up, I'm allowed to be impressed sometimes!"

The dust cloud cleared eventually, and everyone, even Bristle who hadn't been paying much attention, gaped.

Where Taillow had dive-bombed Torch was now a massive crater, with some fires still going from Torch's Ember Hurricane thing. Torch was sort of crouching in the middle of it, breathing heavily and definitely having issues standing up.

Faith checked his health on the pokedex, just in case he was down to zero, and was shocked when she found he was just barely hanging on.

An attack like that and he was _still_ up? Wow.

Taillow himself was hovering a few feet above Torch, tail feathers slightly singed, and eyes fixed on Torch with a glare that would have made even Skittles and Willow cry.

"You _dare_ burn my tail?" he squawked, voice shaking with rage. "That is the worst offence known to all birds! Perhaps it is because you have none to speak of yourself, but that ignorance cannot be forgiven! I care not if it was an accident!"

" . . . I'm guessing that's why you don't like your tail being pulled?" Skittles wondered, glancing up at Faith.

"Well, yeah." Faith said. "But this guy just kind of out-did every single Draco in the no-touching-of-the-tail stuff, like, _ever_."

"Didn't you get banned from a pokemon centre?"

"How the heck did you get _banned_ from a pokemon centre?" Paul demanded. "That's basically impossible!"

"Not now it ain't."

They turned back to the battle when Torch spoke up, sounding like he really should have just given up there and then but absolutely refused to do so.

"My Fires . . . will not be put out . . . by your raging winds!" he cried. "Though I caused you great offence . . . I regret . . . none of it! For I am Torch . . . _and my Fire will not be extinguished_!"

He suddenly lit up, the glow surrounding him completely and making it look like he'd set himself on fire, and then he stood up fully like he wasn't even injured even though everyone could clearly see the injuries he'd sustained.

Torch fired off one single Ember attack before the glow consumed him totally.

Taillow was hit and got blown back into a tree, but he got back into the air seconds later- by that time, Torch had already gotten out of the crater.

"The Blazing Fires that consume me give me strength and the will to fight forevermore!" he shouted. "My own will adds into this and it triples, and so I gain the ability to fight once again! My own power shows my driving purpose- and that is to be the best that I possibly can, for Faith and for my friends and teammates!"

The glow brightened until he wasn't even visible, and then it shifted, and got larger. Once it stopped growing, Torch jumped into the air and the glow broke off of him in small sparkling chunks.

Torch landed and then straightened up, his new form free of any injuries he'd had beforehand. The newly evolved Combusken got into a fighting stance- both arms spread to the side and slightly backwards, claws stretched to fight, his left leg in front of the right one- and he crouched.

"Come at me." was all he said.

Taillow shot forwards and Torch, to everyone's shock, simply jumped and dodged the Wing Attack sent his way. He then spun in mid-air and Kicked Taillow's back, and then twisted and Kicked again with his other leg, and the force of both Kicks sent Taillow crashing into the crater he'd made.

Torch landed and spat five Ember balls at Taillow, and then shot to the side of the clearing just as the bird came up and dodged all five of them at once. Taillow used Peck and tried to score another hit on Torch, but the Fire/Fighting type danced to the side and then grabbed Taillow with a clawed hand.

Taillow looked startled for a moment, and Faith guessed he wasn't used to his opponents just simply grabbing him, then he struggled.

Torch opened his beak and spat a single Ember at him.

 **oooo**

"I . . . must admit, that battle was one worthy of the Legends my colony hold dear." Taillow said breathlessly, while Paul (who was pretty much the only one who understood how to use Potions, but Faith was learning) healed him.

"My thanks." Torch said, nodding politely to Taillow. "And I apologise for burning your tail feathers, my Flying brother. It was not my intention to cause offence."

"They shall grow back." Taillow waved a wing. "I should be the one apologising- I know my tail feathers will grow back, yet I overreacted and attacked you out of rage."

"Understatement of the whole damn year." Skittles and Willow deadpanned.

"But indeed that was a glorious duel!" Torch grinned. "I did wonder what it would be like to battle a Flying brother, and now I have the experience! The next time I meet another Flying brother, I shall battle with him or her!"

"Yeah, that may not be a good idea." Paul said. "You're half Fighting type now, those are weak to Flying types. You got lucky with Blaze in this fight, but what about next time? You can't rely on that ability all the time."

"Isn't that what you tried to do with Chimchar?" Faith asked.

" . . . Yes, but I learned my lesson." Paul muttered. "Alright, Torch, you next. Get over here."

While Torch sat down to have Paul heal him, Taillow hopped over to Faith. The small bird took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes intensely.

"I request you capture me." he said.

" . . . What?" Faith blinked.

He'd just got his ass royally kicked by Torch and he wanted to join them?

"I have seen first-hand the power your team holds." Taillow explained. "You train them well and they repay that training with their skills and trust. I wish to be trained also, and I will fully extend my own skill and trust to you for this. Please, capture me."

Well, Torch _had_ battled him . . . so did that count as a capture fight or something? The way May and Brendan had said it, if a pokemon wanted a fight to be caught they needed to be weakened and then caught. But Taillow had been weakened and Faith hadn't caught him, and now he was at full health, and-

Who the hell was she kidding?

Faith grabbed a pokeball from Paul's bag (they were using his for storing supplies until Faith got one of her own in Rustboro) and held it out, smiling at Taillow.

"Fair warning, if you join us, she'll give you a nickname." Skittles said.

"It is much better than being referred to as 'Taillow-4'." Taillow shrugged, and then tapped the button with his beak. "I do not mind what you call me, Trainer."

Then he disappeared inside, and the ball shook for a few seconds and then stopped.

Faith let him back out again, and then got her pokedex out and switched it to the nickname feature. She frowned and then glanced at him, and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I dunno if this is gonna sound stupid . . . but what about Tiny?" she suggested.

"That's terrible!" Skittles cried.

"It is unusual. Is there a reason?" Taillow asked.

"Well, for one thing, you _are_ tiny." Faith shrugged. "And also- I once knew this kid who used to live in the town at the foot of Winter's Garden before he moved, and he had a really small dog called Tiny. The dog was pretty good in a fight and the kid's parents usually used him when they wanted to go hiking, so he was tough as well. You're small, good in a fight, and tough as far as I can tell- though you do have some issues with actually being hit directly. So, Tiny."

Taillow smiled and puffed up his chest slightly, looking proud. "I shall bear the name with honour, then."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Originally I planned Torch's evolution during the Aqua fight, but then I just basically forgot about it when I realised I'd forgotten Tiny, who I wanted to have in the last chapter. So I put in Tiny to save them from the Team Aqua Grunts, and then I realised I'd forgotten Torch's evolution, so I had the two of them fight and had him evolve in the middle of it.

Paul: I think this way it turned out much better, though.

Renny: Thanks! Anyway . . .

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm**

 **Faith: Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny - Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch**

Green: You didn't need to do Torch's again.

Renny: He evolved during the chapter, and I wanted to, so screw you. Anyway, the limit Faith is gonna have with her team is nine- so basically the next two pokemon are gonna stay with her too, and one of them's a trade. Yes, I know I caught a pokemon in Petalburg forest already, but I consider pokemon I'm only gonna use for a trade as free game, basically.

Paul: I'm sure everyone else got that even before you explained it.

Renny: No they don't. Anyway, read and review!


	6. Chapter 6- Shop till you Drop

Renny: I've got a lot of plans for this region, and some of them actually involve places that are in the anime. Some will be based off what happened in the anime, and no I won't give away anymore than that.

Paul: You're a cruel person.

Renny: Mmhm, whatever. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon. I've basically been demoted to Red's role in the ANs for _Redemption_ , haven't I?

Renny: Well . . . since you may or may not be in this, the focus isn't really on you full stop. It's mostly on Faith. On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

 **Boxed**

Currently none

 **OOOOOO**

"Team Aqua tried several times to take you." Tiny began. "The first happened when you first appeared- I know not how they knew when and where you would appear, but they caused such a great disturbance that my colony and I fought them off."

"So you basically just helped me out because they were being noisy?" Paul frowned.

"You'd do the same." Faith told him.

"No I wouldn't! . . . Okay fine I probably would."

"No, that was not the only reason." Tiny interrupted them. "Because my colony and I believe that you are the Child of Creation in the Legend, I was assigned to defend you against Team Aqua. We were not certain why those buffoons wanted you, but we decided to defend you nonetheless.

"The few times you have seen Team Aqua were only a small number compared to the amount of times I fought them off, unseen. They tried several times throughout the next few days, however I defeated them each time. But they almost slipped my notice when they attacked _outside_ of Petalburg forest, so I had to reveal myself to stop them once again."

"And . . . you joined Faith's team because . . .?"

"Because I feel that their forces will grow stronger, as they have already proved." Tiny said. "Seeing the drive and dedication that Torch holds, I wish to harness my own power and train under Faith. I also believe that perhaps Team Aqua also wishes to take Faith as well as you, as they have tried to attack despite the fact that you were with another- um- human-like being."

"So they're after both of us." Faith muttered. "Any ideas why?"

"The only reason I can think of would be the Legend and your own ties to it, however it is a Legend passed down in few _pokemon_ colonies only. I fear, if that is indeed the reason, what they have done to obtain such information." Tiny looked away sadly.

"Well however they got it, they're not gonna kidnap either of us!" Faith exclaimed. "Not while I can fly, that is assuming they don't have flying pokemon of their own?"

"As far as I could tell, none of the Grunts who attacked- or tried to attack- the two of you own any Flying types or creatures who can Fly." Tiny reported. "I do not know about the rest of the Team, however. I recognise many of those who attacked you, as they had already tried several times before- this leads me to believe that perhaps they are only a small group of Team Aqua, so I know not what other pokemon aid them."

"Well if I remember right, Team Aqua mostly use Water and Ice types." Faith frowned as she tried to remember what else Lily had told her about the ones from the games. "Also Poochyena and Mightyena, for whatever reason, and . . . I think that's basically it?"

"I noticed a few Carvanha. That might mean they have several Sharpedo too." Paul spoke up.

"Okay, this is all fascinating, but would the three of you shut up and _go the fuck to sleep_?" Skittles demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, _it's night time_. Stick your conversation where the sun don't shine and go to sleep!"

"Sun ain't shining, where do you wanna stick it?" Faith retorted with a smirk.

"Up your ass, now shut it!"

 **oooo**

They made it to Rustboro city the next morning. Faith wasn't sure if pokemon were allowed out of their pokeballs, so she returned everyone (besides Skittles obviously) and decided to go and look for the pokemon centre before finding May, or if she found May first, then the pokemon centre.

"Why aren't you putting away Willow?" Faith asked.

"I didn't tell you?" Paul looked surprised. "She's like Skittles- hates pokeballs."

"Oh, so we both got an expy of Pikachu, great."

" . . . What?"

"Nevermind."

"Hey, Faith, over here!"

Faith almost pricked her ears, but then suddenly remembered that most people were probably thinking she was just wearing a costume and the movement of her ears would just make them suspicious. Or scared.

Looking for the source of the shout, she found May waving merrily from in front of a massive building with steps leading up to the front door- or doors, in this case. Though they were all made from glass, which was kinda stupid . . .

Grabbing Paul before he could sneak away, Faith dragged him over to May.

"You finally made it, then." May smirked. "I got here like three days ago! What was the hold-up?"

"Eh . . . I met this guy." Faith explained briefly, nodding to Paul who looked like he wanted to be anywhere near the building.

Faith wondered why, but then got caught back into the conversation.

"Huh. Nice to meet you, the name's May!" May greeted him, holding out a hand.

" . . . Paul." Paul said, not even bothering to shake it.

Sheesh, even Faith knew you should shake a hand offered to you, it was polite! Rude boy.

"Anyway . . . I told you I'd get you some proper clothes when you got here, so come on!" May exclaimed, grabbing Faith's arm and tugging her in the direction of the building.

Oh, so that's why Paul wanted to be somewhere else! This was the . . . supermarket? Mall? What did the humans call it? Lily, Thorn and Cael called the place a shopping centre, but Faith wasn't sure if this world called it anything different.

"This place has nearly freaking everything." May started explaining as the three went through the glass doors. "Anything it doesn't have is on the outdoor market, or the indoor one, and both're somewhere near the park in the centre of the city. There's this discount clothing shop somewhere on the fifth floor, so I thought I'd take you there and see if you can find anything you like. I figured you're not the type to like really fancy crap, hell I don't even like that stuff . . ."

"I don't know what you're on about, but okay." Faith shrugged.

"I suppose this means I'll be dragged along too, then?" Paul sighed.

"I never said you had to, but if you're offering!" May said cheerfully. "Oh, and nice Breloom- she looks so strong and cool! Beech'd _love_ to meet her, so how about we go to the park after this?"

" . . . Yeah sure." Paul blinked. He looked surprised she wasn't forcing him to stay, but he did so anyway. Mostly because Willow didn't want to leave someone who complemented her so well, and therefore Paul had to stay because he was her Trainer.

May took them to a thing she called a lift, and Faith could see why it was called that. When they got onto it, the metal doors closed and it dinged softly, and then the floor moved.

"Wow!" Faith exclaimed, looking around. "Humans made this kinda stuff and it works? Cool."

"Yeah, we have to make up for not having special powers or anything somehow." May grinned.

"I still hate these places." Skittles sulked. She adjusted her position on Faith's head and glared at the roof of the lift. "I heard these things break down and kill people a lot. Why do humans invent things that are so shit?"

" . . . They do?" Faith blinked. She glanced at May. "Do lifts break down and kill people?"

"Uh, no, not really." May frowned. "Well, they do sometimes, but it's rare- like, once a year or something. Why'd you ask?"

"Skittles said they kill people." Faith shrugged.

After a few more seconds the lift dinged softly again, and when they got out, Faith immidiately went over to the glass barrier between her and the floor below. Grasping the metal part with her hands, she looked over and grinned.

"Man, you humans and your massive buildings." she said.

"I know, right?" May giggled. "Hey, Paul, why don't you have a look?"

"Uh . . . no thanks, I'll pass." he said, stepped away slightly.

"Wuss." Willow commented quietly.

"Anyway, let's go find the discount place!" May cried, marching off so suddenly that Faith nearly tripped over her own tail to follow.

Once they got there, it was clear why it was a discount place. The sign that told you the name of the store said 'Stryking- Good clothes for Good prices', so Faith assumed that meant it was a good . . . discount? That word was being thrown around too much today.

"Now then . . . let's see if we can find something that's your size." May said, already walking off in a seemingly random direction. Faith and Paul, exchanging a quick glance, followed her.

The first thing Faith picked up was some kind of black shirt with no sleeves. May told her to put it back because it didn't suit her, and black was a little bit overused what with her dragon features.

"What about this thing?" Paul called from a few feet away. He held up something that looked a little bit like the rags Faith was wearing now, a light brown shirt with short sleeves.

"How thin's the material?" May asked. "She's lived on a mountain her entire life, and 'cus the name's Winter's Garden, I'm willing to bet it's cold as hell."

"Yeah, but I never really noticed it." Faith said, when May glanced over to confirm it.

"Right. So, she won't be used to hot weather, at least not the kind we get- it's a pretty tropical climate in Hoenn." May went on. "So . . . a thin material should be best, at least until she gets used to it anyway."

Who said anything about getting used to it?

"Well, it seems pretty thin . . ." Paul trailed off, pinching the shirt between his fingers. "I dunno, I'm not good at clothes, I usually just grab whatever's good for traveling."

"I can see." May said dryly. "That settles it, you're next!"

" . . . Who said I wanted new clothes?"

"I did, now shut up and help me find some trousers or something."

Faith could see why May was interested in contests. Looks were probably one of the most important things in a contest, like how your pokemon's actual body looked and also the way it moved as well- and from the videos Faith had seen, it seemed that the Coordinators were judged on their own looks as well.

Skittles jumped into a random pile of clothes and dragged out a light blue pair of trousers. Faith tried to do what May had done when she'd checked if the light brown shirt could fit her- she put the trousers against herself and measured them, but the Draco wasn't entirely sure if it worked.

"What'd you find?" May asked, wandering over from lecturing Paul on grabbing random stuff and not looking at the price tags.

"Skittles found it, actually." Faith corrected.

"Oooh, nice! This'll go great with that shirt mister fashion-disaster over there picked up." May grinned, taking the trouserss and holding them up. "In my opinion, brown and blue go together well! Though others might not see it like that, but they have no taste at all, so fuck them. And it's a good material too- loose but not too loose, and good for traveling."

" . . . Okay?"

"Go and try these on, and the four of us'll find some more stuff that might fit!" May said, thrusting the light brown shirt and light blue trousers into Faith's hands.

"What about my wi-"

"Pull them down or something, I dunno, just try the damn things on!" May exclaimed quickly.

She rushed off to grab some kind of yellow hat from Willow, and then smacked Paul with it when he tried to sneak away. Faith watched the scene, blinking slowly, and then shrugged and went to find the changing rooms.

She went inside the first empty one she found, ignoring the cry of delight from some little kid who promptly demanded his mom to 'buy me that costume'. Human kids, seriously . . . so damn demanding.

There was a reflective glass thing in the room- Faith remembered Lily calling it a mirror or something- and a few hooks.

Faith stood there for a second before finding a piece of paper stuck on the wall with instructions on what she was meant to be doing. Probably for people like her who'd never even been inside of a clothing shop, or something.

It said that she needed to undress first, so she took off her rag-clothes and hung them up on the hooks on the other wall.

 _And now . . . what do I do about my wings?_ Faith wondered. _And tail, for that matter . . . sheesh, these things weren't built for Dracos. At least in my own world they had special clothes for Dracos on TV and stuff, with slits and holes for wings and tails . . ._

Maybe she could ask May to do that to the clothes they got? Cut slits for her wings and a hole for her tail, that is.

Faith decided to try May's advice and pulled her wings down, though it was uncomfortable, until most of her wings were just sprawled on the floor around her. She then grabbed the shirt Paul had found and pulled it over her head, finding that, despite being uncomfortable, dragging down her wings had actually worked and she could fit the shirt on perfectly.

Sweet, that was one thing- and it looked nice too, so that was a bonus.

Faith quickly took it off before her wings got a massive cramp, and then stretched said wings as much as she could given the small space- well, small for her, since she had massive wings and these changing rooms weren't built for anything other than a human.

Next was the trousers. She'd seen Lily do a slightly-useless demonstration on how to put them on once, but now Faith was actually grateful she'd been paying attention (mostly out of boredom).

Faith pulled up her tail until it almost touched the ceiling, just keeping it below the top of the door (where some idiot had thought that having a small gap was a good idea, but to Faith it wasn't- probably another human thing). She put on the trousers, being careful when it came up to where her tail was, and then had a look in the mirror thing.

These fit her fine as well. May'd be glad to hear that. Faith got the trousers off and then put her old clothes back on and went out, sighing mentally when the kid tried to beg his mom to get his Faith's 'custume'.

The mom winced and smiled, shrugging at Faith apologectically. Faith only rolled her eyes at the kid and winked at the mom, and then went off to find May, hoping that she hadn't killed Paul, Willow or Skittles while she'd been gone.

It was much worse.

" . . . I'm pretty sure Breloom aren't meant to wear hats." Faith said, when she found her voice.

"That's what I told her!" Skittles snapped. "Stupid humans, not understanding at all . . . freaks of nature, I swear . . ."

Leaving the small Normal type to fume, Faith took the large hat off Willow before the Grass/Fighting type could Mach Punch the hat into next year or something.

"Oh, but she would have looked adorable in a contest!" May laughed.

"I told you, I'm not doing them!" Paul barked.

"You are and that's final, now go find a contest outfit for Faith and get some stuff for yourself while you're at it, that top is horrific."

"Girls, I swear . . ." Paul walked off muttering.

"So, do they fit?" May asked, when he'd gone.

"Uh, yeah, but I was thinking maybe you could cut-"

"-slits and a hole for your wings and tail, right?" May grinned. She grabbed a pair of scissors from her bag and held them up. "Already thought of it, no problem!"

"Thanks!"

May showed Faith some of the stuff they'd found while she'd been in the changing room, all of which looked like it would probably fit Faith. But her favourites were still the shirt and trousers, so May found a couple more of each happily.

"So, what about shoes?" May asked as they went to go find Paul.

"Foot-covering things?" Faith blinked. "Uh, no. New clothes, sure, but nothing covering my feet."

"Well, I suppose you're used to it . . . maybe we could do some kind of forest theme for you in a contest or something . . ." May trailed off thoughtfully.

The contest outfit Paul had found, in May's opinion, would fit that theme perfectly. The top, long sleeved and sort of torn at the bottom for effect, was a pretty leaf-green colour with the torn bottom dyed a fading brown. The skirt that he'd found looked like it was based off Autumn, with the brown orange leaves covering the skirt. The skirt was long, and when May held it against Faith to check it, it came down past her knees and sort of flowed outwards.

"Maybe you're not useless in fashion after all." May said to Paul. "But we still need to find new clothes for you and a contest outfit as well!"

"I keep telling you, I'm not gonna-"

"Come along, boy!"

Faith sniggered and went off to try out the contest outfit while May dragged Paul and Willow off to find him some clothes.

"That girl is crazy, I swear." Skittles muttered, settling down on Faith's shoulder. "If you ever decide to trade me, make sure it's not to her."

"Why would I trade you?"

" . . . Uh . . . my old Tr- most people would consider doing it when they get more powerful pokemon." Skittles said. "This includes most of your current team."

"Yeah, probably, but I won't. I did promise." Faith shrugged.

Skittles looked slightly touched, though she obviously wouldn't admit it.

The contest outfit fit perfectly as well, so Faith- with Skittles holding a couple of things in her coiled-up tail- set off through the store to find May and hopefully find that she hadn't killed Paul for being a 'fashion-disaster' or whatever she'd called him.

May had managed to find a dark blue long-sleeved thin shirt and a pair of trousers the same colour as the shirt he wore underneath his jacket thing. Also a black ninja outfit, which Faith only recognised because Cael was actually pretty obsessed with ninjas and had several costumes. May had gone the extra mile and had gotten a red scarf to go with it.

"Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" Paul wondered.

"Because you're doing contests and that's that." Willow told him.

"Because you're gonna enter a contest even if I have to drag you there." May said at the same time.

"Whatever, but do I have to wear a ninja costume?"

"It goes with your pokemon!" May exclaimed. "You have a Plusle and a Minun, and both of those are speedy attackers- like ninjas! And Willow doesn't even need an explanation, I'm sure."

She certainly didn't.

"So, ninjas!" May shrugged. "Besides, this is pretty much the only thing you didn't instantly hate or try to run away from."

"You tried to run away from outfits?" Faith smirked.

"You try getting a bunch of random stuff thrown at you out of nowhere." Paul scoffed.

"Anyway, I think we're just about done." May said. "We can go and find Bags-R-Us next, Faith kinda needs one."

"You're not gonna make me get a new bag too, are you?" Paul asked warily.

"What? No, that's a good bag." May shrugged.

"Oh thank Mew . . ."

Because she was the one dragging them around, May paid for the clothes as a sort-of apology for being so rough while helping them out. She then said that after they'd gotten Faith a bag, they'd go and find the pokemon centre so Faith and Paul could change into their new clothes.

The bag search was a lot less . . . well, rough. Since they were only looking for a single thing, and only for Faith, May was a lot less demanding and instead explained how the different straps and bags worked.

Faith found a bag that looked a bit like the one May from the anime had- one that went around your waist and had enough room for some clothes and supplies. Well, it looked like it did anyway. Only this one was a sort of pale yellow colour instead of a solid yellow, and the part where you clipped it onto your waist had a small pokeball symbol on the clasp.

"Ah, now this is the kinda thing I'm talking about- easy to wear, won't get in the way, and has enough space for the stuff you need plus a little extra!" May exclaimed. "Damn this place has some good bags . . . shame Brendan left before I could find him one."

"He was here too?" Faith blinked.

"Yeah- got his Badge a couple of days ago, then left to Dewford for the next one. He also said something about training in Granite cave . . ."

May paid for the bag as well, and Faith gave her some of her own battle-won money because she kinda felt a bit guilty that the girl was paying for everything on her own.

"Thank Arceus it's over, finally." Paul muttered as they came out.

"Hey, when we get to Slateport, we're going straight to the market to get berries for PokeBlock, got it Paulie?" Willow said harshly.

" . . . The pain will never end . . ."

Overdramatic much? Was he taking lessons from Torch and Tiny or what?

 **oooo**

Paul certainly looked different in the clothes May had given him. Then again, Faith supposed she looked different too- but the new clothes were fine, so whatever.

"Almost forgot." she said, reaching into the pocket of her old trouser-rags. She pulled out the Skitty card that Skittles had taken the name of, and carefully put it into one of the side-pockets of hew new waist-bag.

"That's important to you, right?" May asked, watching.

"Well . . . sort of." Faith shrugged. "Seems silly now that I've got the real thing on my head, but this card's kinda like a good-luck charm. Well, it was when me and Lily played cards against the boys anyway. We always won when we got this card on the Bench."

Speaking of, Faith wondered not for the first time how her friends were doing. She was a Draco- used to not exactly staying in one place, and she'd been living on her own for somewhere over a year now, so she wasn't homesick or whatever the humans called it. But she did kind of miss her human friends, and her family too.

But that was the point of this journey, right? To find out what happened and get back to her own world? Maybe when it was all over and she got back, she could introduce her team to her friends- they'd all flip out when they saw them!

They chucked away their old clothes- though Paul was very reluctant- and May led them to the park.

"Alright, let's go everyone!" the girl cried, chucking three pokeballs out. She probably had more, but Paul had said that most Trainers tend to just go with whatever they wanted or needed on their teams and Box the others.

Along with her Treecko, Beech, she had a Dustox (the Wurmple must have evolved into a Cascoon then) and a Zigzagoon. The one difference Faith noticed between her own Zigzagoon and May's was-

"How come yours isn't crazy?" Faith demanded.

She sent out her own team and May looked surprised when Bristle hissed and coiled around her shiny rock.

 _"Shiny thing miiiiiiine!"_ she screeched.

"See?" Faith said.

"Maybe you just got the freaky one." May shrugged. "Birch told me Zigzagoon are normally calm, cool and collected- like Tyan."

Tyan the Zigzagoon looked up at Faith and nodded pleasantly.

"Greetings, Faith." he said.

"Yep, I definitely got the wierd one." Faith sighed. "Hi, Tyan."

"Maria you already know." May said, nodding to the Dustox.

"You were there when I got caught, right?" Maria asked. "What was it like, did I look cool or did I look too weird?"

"I told you before, you were fine." Beech muttered. "Sheesh . . ."

"Nice team." Faith said, raising an eyebrow. And she thought no one could top her crazy team . . .

"So, introduce yours!"

"Right. This is Fang, you know him." Faith said, gesturing to the Poochyena who was staring at Torch like he'd grown a second head again. "Torch obviously evolved, though he's still a drama-king. Skittles you know. The Wingull is Glider, he's pretty smart. Bristle is my crazy shiny-obsessed Zigzagoon . . . Spyke's a Beautifly I caught as a Wurmple in Route 104. And Tiny's the newest addition."

"Wow, you got a damn good team! But uh . . . aren't you meant to have six at a time? Unless I can't count, you have seven." May told her.

"Glider said the whole 'six pokemon' rule was just a guideline- I'm gonna have a few more, 'cus it'd feel wrong to keep a lot stuffed in a Box or something." Faith explained.

" . . . You know you could just send them to Birch's lab, right?" May sighed. "I caught a Wingull myself but she didn't like battling, so I sent her to Birch's lab. You don't need to Box them."

"Oh. Okay, when I go over my own limit I'll send pokemon to Birch's lab then!" Faith grinned.

Well, that sorted that problem out at least.

"Motor and Storm, huh?" May smiled, kneeling down so she could see Paul's other two pokemon. "Cool names!"

"I didn't name them." Paul told her. " _Willow_ insisted I did, and when I couldn't think of any she just came up with them herself."

"Yeah, I was wondering why you were suddenly giving names to your pokemon." Faith spoke up. "You never did and suddenly you're giving names to three pokemon."

"I wouldn't have done it- but that all went out the window the second I met Willow." Paul muttered.

"Came up with them herself?" May repeated, standing up. "Wait, does that mean-"

"He can understand pokemon too." Faith said. "And . . . he's also kinda like me, too."

This time Faith didn't mind explaining things, mostly because Paul broke in randomly to correct some things or give some extra information.

"So . . . there's more than just two worlds?" May blinked. "Huh . . . Well damn, I didn't expect that! So, in Faith's world, this world and Paul's is a game and an anime . . . and for Paul, neither of these worlds exist in his . . . and in this one, the same applies. You know what? That Legend you told me about probably has a shit-ton to do with all this."

"Yeah, that's what Tiny thinks as well." Paul said. "Faith said that Mister Stone might know some stuff as well?"

"Oh yeah, he's good at that stuff. But not as good as Steven Stone the Champion!" May giggled like a little kid. "He may be an asshole, but he's a hot asshole . . ."

"Steven Stone's a nice guy in my world." Paul pointed out.

"Yeah well this isn't your world, so take what we give you." May said tartly.

Faith wasn't sure if that was revenge for him being rude earlier.

"Hey, you there!"

The three- along with the mostly-sane pokemon with them- turned as a boy who looked a couple of winters older than them ran up with a Zigzagoon and a Nincada following him.

"I challenge you to a battle!" he cried. "My name's Jack, and I'm on a hundred-win streak!"

"You realise you just challenged three Trainers with three fully evolved pokemon between them, and she has a Combusken, right?" May asked him flatly.

"Hah, doesn't matter! Zigzagoon and Nincada can beat anyone- we've faced off against pokemon far stronger than yours! Come on, we'll take on all three of your pokemon at once!" Jack grinned cockily.

" . . . Trainer's in cities aren't always like this, right?" Faith asked. "'Cus I swear, the ones we battled in the forest were a hell of a lot smarter and just asked to battle Bristle or something."

"No, some Trainers are just complete morons." Paul muttered. "I remember in Kanto there was this idiot in Viridian forest calling himself the Bug Samurai or something, so I just sent out Honchkrow- Murkrow at the time- and beat him in a minute or something."

"Don't ignore me!" Jack snapped. "Fine then- we'll battle that Combusken if you refuse!"

"Torch?" Faith asked.

"My Fighting style will be honed in a battle forsaking the honour of the challenger before me, and though the two pokemon I see before myself are certain to be defeated, they choose to fight nonetheless; this is spirit and courage as I have never seen before! Double Kick!"

Shocking the Zigzagoon and Nincada by suddenly bursting into action, Torch was able to Kick the Normal type into a nearby tree and knock him out instantly. The Nincada looked understandably terrified and shot a look at his Trainer.

"Dude, I'm all for challenging those better than me for kicks, but this is just stupid." he said.

Of course his Trainer couldn't understand him, so Jack instead took it as a request for an attack and ordered a Fury Swipes.

"A hurricane throwing my own spirit and courage through the air rains down upon those I call my opponents, immobilizing them with sheer power and awesomeness!" Torch cried. "I let loose the attack created by yours truly, Ember Hurricane!"

Allow me to draw a curtain over the carnage that followed.

"But . . . we were on a win streak!" Jack cried, shakily returning his beaten-up pokemon.

"Lemme ask you, did your pokemon ever face anything stronger than a wild Zigzagoon or a Whismur or what?" Paul demanded.

" . . . Uh."

"Yeah, thought so. Here's a good idea- get some _good_ pokemon, maybe evolve the two you have now, and maybe you won't suck as badly as you do right now."

After Jack had gone off, looking a little bit traumatized, Faith turned to Paul.

"You didn't need to be so evil, you ass." she scolded.

"What? Kindness won't get through to people." Paul shrugged.

"That explains you."

"He was actually right, though." May mused. "That guy- whatever his name was- really should have thought about challenging any one of us, or at least he should have asked to battle one of our pokemon that wasn't evolved or something."

"If he'd asked for Motor and Storm he'd still get beaten." Paul pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure all of my team could kick his ass to no-man's land or something." Faith said.

"Well . . . yeah, Beech and Tyan could do that too. But still. He should at least have a better idea on what not to do as a Trainer now."

Glancing in the direction the Trainer had gone off in, Faith noticed him rushing to the gates of the park. _Probably heading for the pokemon centre, unless he's an total moron,_ Faith thought.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" May suddenly exclaimed. "That guy kinda gave it to me. The two of you're gonna go and talk to Mister Stone later on, and that's pretty much the only thing you're here for right?"

"Yeah?" Faith and Paul asked.

"Well, maybe you could try the Gym too! Challenging Gyms is a hard profession, or whatever Birch called it. Me, I'm just gonna focus on contests and being a Coordinator because it's a hell of a lot more fun- but why don't you two try the Gym challenge as well?" May suggested. "That way Brendan can have some competition."

"So suddenly you want me to do the Gym challenge and contests." Paul deadpanned. "It's one or the other for me, so-"

"We're doing both and I don't give a damn what you say, Paulie!" Willow snapped.

"I'll do the Gym but I'm not promising anything for Slateport." Paul told her.

Willlow's claws lit up.

"Okay, okay, but just one contest!"

Her eyes narrowed.

" . . . I'll try?"

Willow nodded, looking satisfied.

"I feel like I've been left out of something funny." May said.

"If you call Willow threatening Paulie- sorry, Paul- for not doing the contests funny, then yeah you missed out."

"Dammit, where can I learn to speak pokemon!"

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: The last bit with Jack the Idiot was mostly me wanting to get a filler in to get this chapter to the almost-same size as the others. And it was the perfect excuse for me to introduce the Gym challenge to both Faith and Paul- though this was probably the worst excuse ever, and Faith probably would have agreed anyway and Paul needed no push at all.

Paul: Wow, you're not doing well in terms of chapter proportions, are you?

Renny: Not one bit. Anyway, teams!

 **May: Treecko- Male, Hasty, Beech - Dustox- Female, Modest, Maria - Zigzagoon- Male, Calm, Tyan**

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm**

Renny: Also, fair warning for when we actually get to Slateport- things will get a little complicated with the pokemon on Faith's team. For me anyway.

Paul: Why, did you suddenly realise you have too many 'mons to write?

Renny: . . . Somewhat. Read and review!


	7. Chapter 7- The full Legend

Renny: I get the thing from last chapter, with May suggesting the Gym challenge and all, was a bit sudden and stuff- hell I already went over this before, so of course you do!

Paul: You're gonna try and shove in another reason, aren't you. Besides, remember what Birch said about HMs? If May's gonna focus only on Coordinating, how is she gonna use the HMs she gets?

Renny: There're special allowances for Coordinators who aren't also doing Gyms. Maybe I'll make up some kind of special Ribbon that you get, one for every HM or something. I dunno, but it won't really be mentioned- not directly, and it certainly won't be an issue for Faith, so she wouldn't care much.

Green: I thought the word 'contest' was 'Contest' in the anime? You do the same with Gyms, why not contests?

Renny: I dunno, it seemed kinda wrong. Besides, I do it with Ribbons, don't I?

Paul: Ribbons are the same as Badges.

Renny: . . . Fine, I couldn't be bothered, now someone do the disclaimer or else this pole goes up your asses!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon!

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

Rustboro city was pretty big- compared to Littleroot anyway. May, as she'd been leaving for Dewford and then Slateport, had told Faith not to get too lost. Paul had said he'd been to the city before and therefore neither would be lost, and ten minutes later the four (two of them pokemon) found themselves having to ask for directions to Joseph Stone's building, the Devon Corporation.

"This place is different to my world's!" Paul defended himself.

"I still think somehow directing us to a rubbish dump is dumb, even for you." Skittles snorted. "Humans, I swear . . ."

"There's only one human here, so I fail to see how that would have offended anyone other than Paulie." Willow pointed out. "You need new insults. Care to discuss later on?"

"If you're offering, of course."

" . . . And now I have pokemon conspiring against me." Paul muttered. "If I ever find out how to turn this stupid . . ."

Leaving Paul to mutter and the two pokemon to 'conspire', Faith looked around the busy streets- avoiding people who might step on her tail or try and pull her wings or something stupid like that- watching out for the Devon Co. building the guy who'd helped them out had said was somewhere around here.

He'd told them it was somewhere nearby the outdoors market, which was nearby the park, which Faith remembered how to get to because it was a nice place. So, Faith easily concluded that they needed to look outside the outdoors market for the building, which she could have easily done had she been allowed to fly. However-

 _"But remember, if you_ do _get lost,_ don't fly _!"_ May had said sternly. _"Mew knows people won't be able to believe it . . . or worse, they'll try and catch you or something. Especially some of the Trainers around here, they're so damn stupid . . ."_

So she couldn't fly for the obvious reasons, and she was lucky the people around seemed to think she was just a cosplayer (which she had learned was a person who dressed up and acted as a character from a book, movie, series or whatever) pretending to be some kind of dragon-girl from some anime.

Ah, there we go!

"Hey, guys, I found it!" she called. Then Faith paused. "What are you doing?"

Willow quickly let go of Paul and stepped to the side, giving Faith a not-very-convincing grin. Skittles didn't even bother to pay attention and continued to claw at him.

"What did he say this time." Faith sighed.

"Paulie insists he isn't doing contests. Again." Willow explained. "He also called Coordinators 'sissies' and so me and Skittles decided to beat him into submission."

Paul tried to peel Skittles off his face, failed, and fell over onto his back trying to get her off him. He yelled wordlessly and Faith could see he was attracting a crowd, who were watching with mixed emotions- mostly amusement.

"He doesn't get that he doesn't have a choice, does he?" Willow shook her head in mock-mourning. "Poor, poor little boy."

 _"Get. This. Cat. Off. Me!"_

"Oh, fine." Faith said.

 **oooo**

"You really should just try a contest or two." Faith said, watching as Glider carefully used his beak to hold the small pad-thing to disinfect the scratches on Paul's face.

She wasn't sure how the stuff worked, because if Skittles scratched her it wouldn't be as bad and the stratches would probably have healed by now. But the stuff was made for the humans, who had absolutely crap healing abilities, so maybe it was to speed up healing for humans or something.

"It'd certainly be less painful for you." Glider told Paul, the words a bit muffled from the pad.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just hope the receptionist doesn't remember me as 'the kid that got scratched by a Skitty' and I'll decide later." Paul muttered. "Ow."

"Sorry." Glider said.

The bathroom of the Devon Co. building was like the rest of the said building- large, and very fancy and possibly overpriced. But if the guy in charge could afford it, well, it was all his call so whatever. Didn't matter to Faith so long as she actually got to meet the guy.

"The minute we're done here, I'm going to find the Gym and then I'm gone." Paul murmured, as Glider finished up and started getting out a couple of things humans called plasters or something.

"Aw, don't be like that." Willow snickered from near the door. "At least let's go and see Route 116, and try and find something to fit the 'ninja' theme that May gave you."

"You wanna go back in here, 'cus right now I'm very tempted." Paul threatened, holding up Willow's ball.

"Wuss." Skittles muttered, from her perch on Willow's mushroom head.

"One of these days, you overgrown rat . . ."

"Watch it." Faith warned him. "She's a brat, but she's still my pokemon."

"Excuse me!?"

"Whatever. When's our audience with Mister Stone, anyway?" Paul asked, very obviously _not_ changing the subject.

"Our . . . what?"

"Oh for the . . . when do we meet with Mister Stone to discuss the whole 'we're from two different worlds and by the way we're part of some impossible Legend' thing!"

"Oh, that's what you meant. Uh . . . ten minutes or so, we just need to be in the- . . . uh, lobby?" Faith frowned. "It _is_ a lobby, right?"

"Yes, it's a lobby." everyone else answered.

A couple of minutes later, they were out and made their way back to the lobby (which didn't take long- the public bathroom wasn't that far from the lobby) where the receptionist giggled at Paul's face.

"Oh shut up." Paul muttered mutinously, sitting down with a huge huff. "Throw your Skitty at her and see how she likes getting scratched by a cat in the face . . ."

"You throw me and I'll use that divebomb Peck Tiny used on Torch." Skittles snapped.

"How does a Skitty use Peck?" Faith wondered. "You don't have a beak."

"I have a tail, this thing subs for nearly everything- it can even store sunlight like a plant, or electricity like a Pikachu's pouches." Skittles shrugged.

"Well, that explains how Skitty can use Solarbeam and all that." Paul said. "What about Blizzard? Where's the store for that?"

"I think there's some kinda Ice trait for Skitties, but it's so small that no one really bothered to record it." Glider explained. "So, that's where the Blizzard comes from. And now we 'ave an explanation for Solarbeam and a few other moves Skitty can use . . . I assume the same applies for Ice Beam?"

"Mm." Skittles nodded. "Same goes for Delcatty- my evolution. You'd better find a Moon Stone fast, Faith."

"Why, are Delcatty any better than Skitty?" Faith asked. "There was this one episode in the Hoenn seasons where Ash and his friends met a Coordinator who had a Delcatty called Johnny, and he was pretty strong . . . is that why you wanna be one? 'Cus they're strong?"

"That and it also gaurantees people taking me seriously." Skittles muttered. "Ever seen serious Coordinators or Trainers with a Skitty for very long, unless they're a _really_ good Trainer?"

"Well, not that I remember." Faith said.

"You're the second Skitty I've ever seen and the first was wild, so I don't know if I can say anything." Paul shrugged.

Faith wondered if this was all to do with Skittles' original Trainer who she kept denying the existance of, but then the receptionist called them over and they had to cut the conversation short.

"Mister Stone will see you now." she said, carefully not glancing at Paul. "His schedule cleared up earlier than we expected, so go right in, kids. Oh, and you may need to leave your pokemon outside of the room- we can't be too careful after all, I'm sure you understand."

"We understand perfectly, don't worry." Glider said.

The woman looked blank.

"We get it." Faith told her.

"Good. His office is on the top floor, so just go to the lift and press number fifteen, alright?"

 **oooo**

Joseph Stone's office was a nice place, in Faith's opinion. It had two windows on the three walls that didn't have the door, and a few pretty landscape pictures were hung here and there. There were also a few strange-looking stones inside of glass cases on pedestals, all up against the right and left walls and forming a sort of wide walkway as Faith and Paul- leaving their pokemon outside the room as instructed- walked in.

The man himself was sitting behind a desk with some kind of screen suspended a few centimetres above it- it wasn't attached to anything else, and it was sort of transparent and was obviously a touch-able screen. Some kind of high-tech computer?

Stone tapped it a couple of times before turning to them, pushing it away with a gentle movement of one hand. It shimmered and disappeared, and Faith just about saw a small, blinking light on one of the devices on the table light up properly.

"Ah, so you're the kids that wanted an audience, I assume?" Stone asked.

"That's us, sir." Paul said.

Wow. Was this guy that powerful that even Paul would call him 'sir'?

"And you did leave your pokemon outside, I see." Stone smiled warmly. "Most Trainers and Coordinators who request an audience forget, and their pokemon- no matter how well-behaved- end up destroying at least one of my stones or paintings. Thank you for honouring my request, both of you."

"No problem." Faith shrugged. "Skittles probably would have hated being in here anyway and Glider'd . . . do what you just said, actually. On accident."

"And your pokemon? I could see three- I assume the Breloom belongs to you, dear boy." Stone said, looking at Paul with an impressed expression. "I applaud you on getting your Shroomish to evolve so quickly, you must be an excellent Trainer."

"Um . . . thanks." Paul blinked.

Guess he wasn't used to praise.

Kind of sad, if you thought about it. It was probably his own fault for being so . . . well, not-approachable, but still. Faith didn't care who you were, praise was a nice thing, and if he wasn't used to it . . . that was just sad.

"So . . . what is it you wanted to ask?" Stone got them back to the actual reason they were here. "Most Trainers and Coordinators tend to come in to ask if I have any spare evolutionary Stones- which I don't, because even I can't find them whenever I look down. That Skitty of yours uses a Moon Stone to evolve, and I don't even own _one_ of them, so I'm sorry if I can't help."

"No, it's not that at all!" Faith quickly cried. "Honestly, it's something totally different- and a little bit . . . unbelievable, but it's still true, I swear."

"So do I." Paul broke in. "Even if this might seem way too much, we thought maybe you could help, so . . . please, hear us out."

And the man, looking perplexed and slightly cautious (because someone being told that something impossible was true even before he was told said impossible thing would obviously be suspicious and wary), listened to them as they again explained the story as best as they could, filling in where each of them had less knowledge.

Stone stared at them for what seemed like hours after they'd finished speaking, saying nothing. The only thing he did was lean back a little and close his eyes, lacing his fingers together thoughtfully.

"Birch told me that you know stuff about myths and legends and stuff like that." Faith said. "He also said your son knows stuff too, but he's an a-"

"-he's too far away and we'd probably not be able to talk to him anyway because neither of us even have a single Badge." Paul quickly corrected. He shot a warning glare at Faith, who rolled her eyes and looked back at Joseph Stone, who still hadn't said a word to either of them in the time they'd been speaking.

" . . . Different worlds, hm?" he eventually said. "That's . . . quite the story. Do you have any proof?"

Faith uncurled her wings and beat them a couple of times, rising into the air briefly before dropping back down.

"I see." Stone said. He turned to Paul. "And you?"

"Uh . . . I'm not a Draco, I'm just human- so I dunno if I _can_ prove it, honestly." he said hesitantly. "But . . . surely Faith's proof can speak for both of us?"

"Well . . . alright then, I'll choose to believe you both." Stone nodded.

The two breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Now, you mentioned a Taillow you caught? He spoke of a Legend from his pokemon colony? Would you mind sending him out for me?" Stone asked.

"But, what about the room . . .?" Faith wondered.

"Oh, he sounds intelligent enough, it's fine." Stone waved a hand. "Though I'd prefer you keep your Zigzagoon- Bristle, was it?- in its ball."

Faith nodded and sent out Tiny, who looked confused at the surroundings.

"Astounding." was all he said, before hopping onto Stone's desk. "This is a truly astounding room- the collection of stones is quite rare, if I am not mistaken. Some seem to be from the Legends and Myths from my colony, the descriptions fitting perfectly."

"Some are evolution Stones, little bird." Stone told him.

"Ah, that would explain- . . . did you understand my words?" Tiny broke off, shocked.

Faith and Paul were understandably surprised as well.

"At Devon Co., we invent devices to make a Trainer or Coordinator be the best they can be." Stone began explaining. "Some of these devices include the PokeNav, or Pokemon Navigator, and also the Fossil Resurrector. A newer one, tested by Professor Birch and some volunteer Trainers, is the Translation device. Right now it's just a small pod- this one here, see?-" he held up one of the small pod-things on the table. "-but it works perfectly well. Right now I have scientists working on creating a sort of microphone, attached to a headset, that allows _one_ pokemon to be understood, instead of an entire room-full of pokemon."

That didn't make much sense, but it was technology and Faith was still pretty new to the concept of 'this moves without me touching it, cool' stuff.

"Wonder why we don't have those in my world . . ." Paul mused. "Would've certainly been easier to find information about pokemon if we could just ask the pokemon directly."

"I think Thorn said something about the scientists in my world trying to do the same, with Dracos acting as helpers for translation, but so far they haven't had much luck." Faith said.

"Well, I'm glad we've outdone both of your worlds in technology." Stone smiled. "Now, as I was saying . . ."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"This Legend you told Faith and Paul." Stone said. "Would you mind repeating it for me?"

"Of course, Mister Stone." Tiny nodded. "The Legend tells of two children- one human and the other part dragon. Both had been chosen by a higher order, though which higher order it is was unclear to us in the Legend. For all we know, it may well have been the Creation Trio, or perhaps Arceus himself. Nevertheless. The human is known as one of the Children of Creation, and the part dragon child is known as a Child of the Dragon."

"'One of'?" Stone echoed. "Are you implying there may be more of these Children?"

"There are indeed." Tiny told him. "Though some may not know it, they are indeed a Child of Creation or a Child of the Dragon. Children of Creation are much easier to spot, if you know what to look for. Those that are Children of Creation have . . . special abilities, you may say."

"Why are we only hearing this in more detail now?" Faith whispered to Paul.

"Beats me." the boy answered.

"Special abilities?" Stone raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean, Taillow?"

"Faith has given me the name Tiny."

"Sorry, Tiny."

Tiny nodded, satisfied, and carried on. "Special abilities such as the ability to break space and see through time."

Paul looked like he was about to faint from pure shock. Stone didn't look too far behind him.

"Breaking space means- to my colony at least- that a Child of Creation can . . . 'bounce', if you like, between different dimensions- different spaces." Tiny went on. "By doing so, they need to 'break' space as it were, thus destorying the barriers between dimensions and realities, but only for a brief moment- and in this moment, the Child can bounce between the reality he or she is already in, and the one they had broken into."

"So . . . a Child of Creation- Paul, assuming the Legend speaks of him- can freely move between different worlds and realities at will?" Stone checked.

"Correct. Though this ability is the more . . . unpredictable of the two, depending on your opinion. According to the Legends which expand on this ability, unless the Child learns to control it, they may come into their abilities and bounce randomly at times of great stress. In this case, it takes months for the ability to be used again- simply because it needs 'charging' if you pardon the ideology." Tiny explained. "The Elders believe the ability comes from either Palkia or Giratina themselves, or perhaps both, because the Child is also granted passage into the Distortion World."

"And . . . the second ability?" Stone asked. "The ability to see through time?"

"This one is an ability gifted to some who are not even Children of Creation, as such it is more well-known." Tiny said. "Though, I am not certain how many humans know of it. Many gave it a seperate name because of this reason, the Dimensional Scream. Visions of the past and future slice through time barriers, 'homing in' on certain beings.

"By touching something, living or not, a creature with the Dimensional Scream will be able to experiance a sort of dizzy feeling, before seeing or hearing something connected to the past or future of the thing being touched. This ability, as the visions suggest, comes from Dialga himself. Children of Creation have both abilities, hence why they are known as Children of Creation- because of the relation of the Creation Trio."

" . . . Wow." Paul said absently. "So I can do that? But . . . how come I never . . ."

"Tiny, you said 'come into'." Faith pointed out. "What's that mean?"

"A very good question!" Tiny said, turning to her and grinning as if this was some kind of school session that her humans friends went to. "Children of Creation cannot obviously control or even consciously use their abilities at a very young age- or at least, this is what the Elders believe. They also believe that the Creation Trio made a rule, if you will, that a certain age or maturity level must be reached before the Child can come into their powers."

"So . . . I reached that level a few weeks ago?" Paul asked.

"I assume so." Tiny nodded.

" . . . Well, that explains why I didn't bounce into this world or something before." Paul muttered.

"And the Children of the Dragon?" Stone interrupted. "Is there anything connecting them to a Legendry pokemon? Assuming the name isn't just a name, a Child of the Dragon- Faith, perhaps- would have some connection to a Dragon Legendry?"

"That is correct." Tiny told him. "Latios and Latias, in fact. Both names for both of the Children have significance to the pokemon they represent. Now . . . a Child of the Dragon is, essentially, a creature which possesses massive amounts of the life essence we know as Aura. Some beings may be able to use it to great amounts, but a Child of the Dragon- a Child of Latios and Latias, two Dragons who use pure Aura for their signature attacks- can hold astounding amounts of it."

"'Pure' Aura?" Stone frowned. "I thought all Aura was pure."

"The Elders have speculated that the Aura humans and some pokemon use is not in fact pure." Tiny said. "As it is, the type of Aura changes with the creature using it- therefore it is not pure, but is still powerful. Pure Aura is something only the Eon Legendries can use, and something which a Child of the Dragon can use. In this case, Faith is able to use pure Aura, but will need training to do so- possibly from Latios and Latias themselves, if possible."

"What exactly is pure Aura?" Paul asked. "I only know about it 'cus Maylene can use it- kinda- and her Lucario can use it too, but if it's just normal Aura and not this pure stuff, then . . . what _is_ pure Aura?"

"Pure Aura- as the name suggests- is _completely_ pure." Tiny said. "Legends suggest that it is simply life essence, untouched and unbound by the soul that it is tied to, unlike the Aura used by others, which you call normal Aura. This means that it is perhaps able to do as normal Aura can, and perhaps even more astonishing things."

"You mean to say you aren't certain?" Stone asked.

"We are not. Unlike the Children of Creation, Children of the Dragon are few in number, and even then the pure Aura they can use is largely unknown to even them. They may be able to use it as if they had normal Aura, but they would not be able to unlock the other aspects of their power without help. There is not a simple way of finding out if they are indeed a Child of the Dragon, expect if Latios and Latias were to examine them theirselves." Tiny explained. "However, because of the nature of the Legend Faith and Paul may be tied to, it was much easier to find this out- simply because she is indeed part dragon."

"So, Paul can bounce between worlds and see the past or future, and I can use this 'pure Aura' stuff?" Faith asked. "Why in the Stars' name didn't you tell us this before, Tiny?"

"I . . . did not feel it was the right time." he said, looking uncomfortable. "Also . . . you did not exactly ask for specifics, and I felt that Mister Stone would wish to know."

"Talk about vague." Paul scoffed.

"What I don't understand is how Paul didn't realise this himself." Stone broke in suddenly. "You said you just woke up here?"

"Uh, yeah . . ."

"Hey, remember the dream you told us about, before?" Faith reminded him. "Maybe that was the starting thing and you just wrote it off as a weird dream, because, well, breaking space is a bit weird."

"I . . . I don't really know. I just remember something scaring me really badly, and then something just shattered- and then I woke up in this world, in Petalburg forest, with a talking Shroomish." Paul said. "Oh yeah- what about understanding pokemon? Where'd that come from?"

"I do not know." Tiny answered. "My only guess is that perhaps, when your abilities awakened, you also gained the ability to understand pokemon. You are directly connected to the Creation Trio, who are gods, but they are still pokemon nonetheless."

"Makes sense I guess."

"Was there anything else to this Legend?" Stone asked. "We did get a little distracted by the . . . abilities and revelations of their powers."

"The Creation Trio- and as such, other Legendry pokemon- reign not only over a single world but also all others." Tiny said. "It stands to reason that is why Faith and Paul, despite being from different worlds entirely, still hold the power. The Legend says that a higher order chose them both for a reason unknown, and both had been chosen for their ignorance of all worlds. Either by birth, in Faith's case, or _mostly_ choice, in Paul's case. It is not known why, however. The Legend is only a small but memorable one- others branch into it, explaining certain powers or the Children themselves, but that is all. I am sorry I cannot give you more information."

"No, this explains much, thank you Tiny." Stone smiled. "Well, we have Paul's appearance down- but what about yours, Faith? This Cludiant card, that is. The word itself- Cludiant- is an old word for 'transport'. The card obviously meant to transport you to this world, but where did it come from?"

"I dunno." Faith shrugged. "Thorn and the others didn't notice it until I did, and he always checks the deck before using it, so it didn't come with the deck itself."

"Perhaps it was placed there by one of the Eon duo- in which case we should abandon the quest to find the card itself and instead search for Latios and Latias." Tiny suggested. "The Legend does say you were both chosen- so perhaps Arceus or another Legendry forced a bounce from Paul to land him here, and asked one of the Latis to place that Cludiant card where they knew Faith would find it and read from it first."

"Yeah, I always read the card outloud if I don't get them- that way the others get which card I'm on about."

"Well, I feel as though I've done nothing to help at all." Stone sighed.

"Well, you got Tiny to tell us the full story in detail, so that's something." Paul shrugged. "And at least I know how I got here . . . now I just gotta find out _why_."

 **oooo**

"If we want to find Latios and Latias, we'll need to find a place called Mirage island." Paul said, reading from one of the many books in the pokemon centre library. "Apparently they both live there, and . . . oh, great."

"What?" Faith asked.

"Only the Champions of each region can have access to the Island." Paul sighed. "So basically we're out, unless we can somehow become the Champions. Oh, it also says that Grand Fesitival winners can be granted passage as well, but only if accompanied by a Champion . . ."

"That sucks ass." Faith muttered. "So, either way- we're gonna need Badges or Ribbons to even get a chance, and even then we still need to win either one."

"Well, I suppose this gives me a reason other than 'the girls forced me' to do contests." Paul said.

"So we're doing them?" Willow bounded up, carrying a few books and Skittles on her head- somehow. "FINALLY."

"Okay, wow, library, keep it down." Paul muttered. "Yes, I'll do contests- but only for a chance to at least get into Mirage Island. Sheesh, that place is totally different in my own world . . ."

"It is?" Faith couldn't remember whether or not Mirage Island had shown up in the anime, or if it had she hadn't seen the episode.

"Yeah- it's basically this remote island surrounded by some mist or fog, and the only things of interest on there are Leichi berries and the bunch of Wynaut living there."

"I'll assume you went there."

"It was a bit weird." Paul nodded. "It's obvious this world has it different though- considering a Latios and Latias live there."

"The way Tiny and Stone were talking, it sounded like there's only one set of them in this world." Faith pointed out. "Maybe those two can go between worlds, and the others from your world can't?"

"Maybe, but we can't wonder about that- we need to focus on finding out as much as we can." Paul said. "For example . . . it says here that Mirage Island is only visible to those with pure hearts- I guess you cover that, with the pure Aura stuff, but . . . I dunno about me. I'm not exactly pure . . ."

"No you are not." Skittles and Willow said.

"Shut up."

"Well, at least we know what we are and what ties we have to the Legend- even if Tiny made us wait for the full details." Faith said.

"Well . . . to be fair, we _did_ just ask about that Legend- nothing else." Paul shrugged. "So, we can't exactly blame him."

"Huh. Normally you'd be willing to blame him."

"Well, finding out that I have some cosmic powers that basically make me some kind of Creation Trio expy kinda overswept the whole 'he should have told us' thing." Paul pointed out.

"Fair enough. Shame Stone couldn't help us out though, he didn't have any books or anything that could relate to what we are." Faith said, glancing up at the ceiling.

"What do you expect?" Skittles said. "You find out you're some kind of Latios and Latias expy and _somehow_ you're not a pokemon."

" . . . You mean you believe me now?"

" . . . Maybe."

"Ugh."

An hour later- after reading up on this world's versions of Latios and Latias, and also some random books about other Legendries for no particular reason other than the fact that Skittles was being difficult- they finally came out of the library and went to the lobby of the pokemon centre, and then found their way to the dining hall and sat down for food.

"I think we'll go to the Gym today, and then take a ferry to Dewford in the evening." Paul said.

"What about Route 116? If we're doing contests, we still need to fit the theme May got for you." Willow said, glaring at him.

"Yeah, fine, but after the Gym."

"No. We go to Route 116 first."

"The Gym'll take like a minute- you're a Grass/Fighting type and I'm pretty sure Motor and Storm have Iron Tail for some reason . . ."

" . . . Fine, but after that we get healed and then we go to Route 116- we're getting a Nincada and I don't give a damn what you say."

"I don't have any say in what I do anymore, do I." Paul deadpanned.

"You basically lost that privilege when you came here." Faith told her.

"Yep, thought so."

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: The explanation- or what passes for one, since it's the wilds' version- was actually intended to last a hell of a lot less time then that. And then I just got really into explaining Paul and Faith's powers and everything else and suddenly I realised that maybe I really should stop, but I didn't and it ended up taking most of the chapter.

Paul: We had a pretty calm reaction to the revelations.

Renny: Faith's not even human, and she hasn't been raised in a culture where having weird and wonderful powers is just plain stupid, impossible and strange.

Paul: And me?

Renny: It gave you an explanation as to why you appeared in that world and why you understand pokemon- plus after waking up randomly in a new world entirely, shocks were kind of numbed down. But still, you were shocked when you found out about breaking space and seeing through time and all that.

Paul: . . . Fine, whatever.

Renny: Anyway, Paul's team!

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm**

Renny: Checking last chapter's character teams, I realise that I got Motor and Storm's the wrong way around. I'll have to change that, so those who read it afterwards won't notice the change at all- sorry about that. Anyway-

Green: Technically May's in this too, so why isn't her team here?

Renny: Because she doesn't get a speaking role other than the flashback, so screw that! Now . . . read and review!


	8. Chapter 8- Breaking Stones

Renny: I'm not sure if anyone's noticed this, but Paul's actually the only character (besides Brendan and Birch, though I'm not sure about either of them) who hasn't said anything remotely cuss-able.

Paul: So I haven't sworn or said 'damn' yet, what's the big deal?

Renny: Nothing, it just shows a lot about a character who's meant to be the meanest of the bunch when he doesn't even curse, but everyone else does it like no-man's business.

Green: Do I curse in _Redemption_ at all?

Renny: . . . Good question. Anyway, I've made a character-team sheet of sorts, I'm calling it chapter zero- c0 in simple terms. It shows the main characters plus the team stats and such, or at least the pokemon they catch and use frequently. In my case, the entire Rotation team, so right now it looks like Faith has twice the amount the other three have. And no, because some of them contain spoilers for the next time we meet the other Trainers in-story, I'm not gonna tell anyone anything about it other than the fact that I even have it to begin with.

Paul: Wait, what the heck was the point in telling them anyway?

Renny: It's a way of making sure that people know I'm not using the previous chapters to check teams and such, and therefore the information isn't wrong. Anyway, disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

Whismur- Male, Relaxed, Echo

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

"Wake up, lazy-wings."

"Mmmrrrgghh . . ."

"Wake up."

" . . ."

"Don't make me get Echo."

"Mm?"

"I'll get him to use Uproar."

" . . . Ahh . . ."

"Did you just yawn at me? Okay, that's it. Echo!"

"S'up?"

"Use Uproar on this lazy-ass."

"Sure."

" . . . Mm?"

 _ **"BWEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**_

 _"I'm up, I'm up!"_

"Fucking finally. Gym battle's in like an hour, get ready and get moving. . . . _Now_."

"I thought it was the _Trainer_ that gave the orders . . ."

"I'm sorry, you must be talking about competent Trainers who _actually get up on time for a Gym battle_."

 **oooo**

"Welcome to Rustboro Gym, where- . . . are you okay?"

Faith blinked and shook her head slightly, squinting a little. "Well, I got an ear-full of Uproar from my Whismur because my Skitty's a brat about being on time . . ."

"I'll take that as a no." Roxanne looked a little bit concerned. "Would you like to come back at a later time, perhaps? Have you even had breakfast?"

"Not sure." Faith yawned. She shook herself again. "Glider, mind using Water Gun or something?"

"Alright then."

After a short blast of cold, refreshing Water, Faith finally felt awake enough to stop yawning and squinting. Why couldn't she have thought of this earlier, when she was waking up or something? A Whismur screaming in the morning did wake her, and the entire centre, up instantly- but it didn't exactly do much to _keep_ her awake.

"Okay, I'm cool, let's get on with this." Faith said, not groggily for once that morning. Thank you, she-who-will-not-be-named (Skittles).

" . . . Right." Roxanne said. "As I was saying . . . Welcome to the Rustboro Gym, challenger- here we focus on defence and facing near-impossible battles. Defeating me will result in you instantly getting the Stone Badge. However, I can award you the Badge if you impress me enough even if you don't win. So, either way, do your best and hopefully none of your pokemon are half-crazy Hulks."

"Brendan with his Mudkip?" Faith asked.

"You know him? What's wrong with it?"

"I dunno, but he bent May's Treecko's tail the wrong way. Apparently it couldn't do that."

Roxanne blinked. "I suppose I got off lightly, then . . . Anyway. Can you face an opponent with literal rock defence? Go, Geodude!"

"Torch!"

"Oh come on, that's just not fair . . ." Roxanne complained, as Torch bounded onto the Gym field with a massive grin on his face.

"What do you expect? I don't have a Grass type and my only Water type is half Flying." Faith shrugged. "You first?"

"Well, as long as you're actually giving me a chance rather than just Double Kicking through instantly . . . Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Geodude hefted himself onto his hand-feet-things and did a kind of one-handed hand-stand. The hand that wasn't on the ground moved a little bit, the rocky skin shifting uneasily, and then some rather large rocks materialised from his hand.

The Rock/Ground type chucked them and almost unbalanced himself in the process, but steadied himself by putting the throwing hand back onto the ground.

Torch, seeing the rocks coming, smirked and stood still. Faith watched as he only dodged at the very last minute, and then Kicked off the ground at a full-speed run.

Which, because he was basically a bird of some kind, was pretty damn fast.

"Keep him at a distance!" Roxanne cried frantically. "Rock Tomb, now!"

Faster than Faith thought he could move, Geodude dropped his . . . face . . . onto the floor and slammed his arms down, causing some kind of shiver in the earth. At first Faith thought he'd disobeyed, but then sharp, thick rocks smashed into place just in front of Torch. They came up too fast for him to even have enough time to slow down or jump over, so the Cumbusken ended up crashing into them head-first.

"Yow . . ."

"You okay?" Faith called.

Torch jumped up and onto the sharp Tomb, only a slight bruise on his legs and beak showing that he'd actually slammed full-speed into solid rock.

"Mere Tombs of Rock will not deter me from my course!" Torch yelled. "You may be a pokemon of stone and earth, but I possess Fighting skills that can break such stone! You, as much as I, are vulnerable!"

"Nice to see he still hasn't lost his drama-king-ness." Skittles muttered sarcastically.

"Well, at least he can actually back it up." Faith pointed out.

Torch jumped onto the floor, and winced slightly when he landed. Faith almost called him back, but Torch completely ignored the pain and just simply ran up to Geodude, a little slower than before.

Geodude looked incredibly startled when he was Double Kicked to the opposite side of the room.

Recalling him, Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I'm beginning to wonder why I chose to set up a Rock Gym when I'm hardly a week or two away from a place that gives away three starters who can easily beat my team up."

"I'd like to tell you Brock has it worse, but since Charmander evolves into a Flying type, I'm not sure how accurate that would be." Faith told her.

"I can hardly credit it." Roxanne sighed. "Moving on- my final no-Badge pokemon . . . Nosepass!"

"Glider?" Faith asked, looking down at said bird.

"Nosepass are- basically- pokemon with a natural compass." Glider explained. "I ain't really that sure, but I think they're pure Rock type- which means Torch doesn't need to worry about a second typin' that might beat him. But he still needs to watch out for Rock Tomb, though. Just spam Double Kick and keep your distance when you can, really."

Faith relayed the information quickly, making Roxanne look confused- oh, right, she didn't know about the whole . . . right, Faith would need to be more careful. Or maybe she'd get lucky and Roxanne would just assume she was some kind of interpreter or whatever the humans called them.

Anyway.

"Kicking through the stony face of my foes is the best way to defeat them!" Torch said, just about dodging a Rock Tomb smashing up from a foot to his left. "In the name of my specialised and awesome power, I will defeat you!"

"Why do I get the crazy ones . . .?" Faith wondered.

Skittles hit her in the shin with a Double Slap, and Faith quickly ordered a Double Kick before turning to her and glaring.

"What?" Skittles shrugged. "You said 'crazy'. I was merely proving you right."

There was a loud _bang_ as Torch Kicked Nosepass in the face, and then another one as he quickly switched legs- though he flinched slightly, which made Faith wonder if the damage from the Rock Tombs were actually hurting him too badly.

Torch bounded away, blathering about his 'awesome Fires and blah blah blah speeches', while the Nosepass recoiled and tried to recover.

"Ember Hurricane!" Torch cried.

The fires, made purely from a bunch of Embers and made to look as though he was using Fire Spin but actually wasn't (though Roxanne didn't know this, she looked a bit terrified), swirled around Nosepass and blocked any route for escape.

"That move'd be good for a contest." Faith remarked.

"Let's just get there first."

Nosepass, acting purely on instinct and a bit of fear, Faith thought, threw up a couple of Rock Tomb shields- but Torch simply pelted over them, unable to jump anymore because of the beating his legs had taken during the battle, and then Kicked Nosepass in the, well, nose.

It- Faith wasn't sure of the thing's gender- flew back and skidded to a halt in front of Roxanne, and a quick look at Faith's pokedex showed that the Rock type was beaten.

"It's done, Torch!" she called, as the Combusken got ready for another attack.

Torch looked faintly disappointed.

"Well . . ." Roxanne said weakly, returning her pokemon. "I can see how you beat the preliminary match Trainer so easily."

Faith gave her a look.

"Hey, you didn't even have a single Badge- it's not my fault I can't use a team more suited to your pokemon's power!" Roxanne exclaimed, throwing her arms up. "You Trainers, seriously . . ."

 **oooo**

"That was an easy fight- are all of them this easy?" Faith wondered, holding up her Stone Badge to inspect it.

Glider settled down on one of the cushions on the sofa, while Torch got healed by Nurse Joy, and Skittles just hissed at any humans that came within three feet of her.

"Well . . . as far as I'm aware, Gym leaders're only allowed to use certain teams for certain Trainers." Glider began.

Faith looked at him, interested.

"Go on."

"Like Roxanne said, she could only use the team that was meant for a no-Badge Trainer- you, in this case." Glider explained. "If you'd 'ad a Badge or two, she would've been able to use a better team. Gym leaders 'ave to qualify for their roles, so obviously their real teams are the ones they use for Trainers with all eight Badges, or those that've already done the League in another region and came 'ere with their old team instead of a new one. An old 'and at the Leagues, in other words."

"So, she wasn't allowed to use a team more suited for Torch's strength?" Faith tilted her head. "Seems a bit silly if you ask me."

"That's 'ow the League made it- so that Trainers wouldn't 'ave to face against too weak or too tough an opponent whenever they challenged a Gym. It's also a good way of testin' strength or common sense."

"So how exactly do they qualify?" Faith asked. "Gym leaders, that is. You mentioned something about their real teams?"

"The ones that they used against the Elite Four in qualification." Glider nodded. "To get a Gym, a leader must first face off against the Elite Four of the region they're qualifyin' for a Gym in. In Roxanne's case, she'd 'ave battled the Elite Four of this region- and she'd need to 'ave won at least one battle too. If I can remember right, I think Roxanne beat Sidney, but then lost to Glacia, mostly based on her Ice types more than anythin' else. So, if Roxanne could 'ave used her actual team, it would've been a much better challenge for Torch."

"Huh . . . cool. Though it does kinda suck that her no-Badge team is so damn shit." Faith muttered. "Maybe she could toughen them up or something . . ."

"Technically she probably could, but you ain't a normal Trainer. That means the battle's different for others." Glider shrugged.

"I wonder how Brendan and Paul did . . . though considering how she mentioned Brendan's crazy Mudkip, I'd say Brendan at least won- and Paul has a Breloom, so . . . well, she certainly got a lot of tough Trainers, didn't she?"

"Poor her." Glider smiled. "Oh, and the next Gym- Dewford Gym- is a Fightin' type one."

" . . . Yeah, so?" Faith asked, when he didn't continue.

"I was wonderin' if you'd use me?" Glider asked hesitantly. "I know I'm better at special attacks like Water Gun, but . . . well, I do 'ave Wing Attack."

"Uh . . ." Faith tried to remember what Fighting types were weak against- Flying, that's it! And she had three Flying types. "Well, how about you _and_ Tiny? He can take the Gym leader's stronger pokemon, you can take whatever comes first, okay?"

"I'm fine with that- I just don't wanna feel useless is all." the Wingull shrugged.

"Better than what some of the others'll get- I doubt Spyke's ever gonna get to battle in a Gym."

"Your pokemon is perfectly healed!" Nurse Joy announced, walking up happily. "And might I say, he's a fine example of his species."

"I'll be sure to tell him that." Faith smiled, taking the pokeball.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this . . ."

She blinked, and Nurse Joy carried on.

"The Trainers' School is coming for their weekly day trip tomorrow." the woman said. "I know you probably want to get to Dewford as soon as possible, but I was wondering . . . could you perhaps stay here and present your pokemon to the kids? I'd also like to stage a mock-battle, and Roxanne has already agreed to use one of her no-Badge pokemon. Maybe you could use a recent capture?"

"Uh . . . the most recent is a Whismur I caught in that cave place up north, but he's a Normal type . . ." Faith trailed off thoughtfully. "I have a Beautifly- would she be okay?"

"Lovely." Nurse Joy smiled.

Well, at least Spyke could have some action this way. The only battle she'd had since evolving was that one outside of the forest, and even then she hadn't honestly done much. If Faith could remember properly, she did have that Absorb attack . . . which was Grass.

Sweet.

"So I'll be in a Gym battle tomorrow?" Spyke repeated, looking incredibly excited as they all settled in for the night- rooms were full, and Faith had given hers away because she didn't know she'd be doing demonstration classes for kids the next day, so they had to sleep in the lobby. Though Faith didn't mind much, it was nice here.

"Well, a mock-battle, but yeah." Glider told her. "Basically you're gonna show some kids from the School a battle."

"Oooh, sounds interesting- I'm certainly in, mates!"

A few seconds passed in silence, before Faith suddenly yelled in surprise.

"What is it?" Skittles hissed, looking around in shock.

"Did she say Roxanne!?" Faith exclaimed. "What- what exactly does that- is Roxanne a teacher?"

"I'm . . . surprised you didn't know." the Nurse Joy who was taking the Night Shift spoke up. "You're from Hoenn, right?"

"Uh . . . no? I'm from another w- region." Faith quickly corrected herself. "So I dunno much about it other than what- uh- what others have told me."

"Oh, well . . . Roxanne is one of the best teachers in the School." Nurse Joy told her. "Mostly because she actually volunteers and does a good job, unlike most of the teachers they actually pay . . . I think teaching is a hobby for her. Anyway, she brings her classes to the pokemon centre once a week- sometimes for a mock-battle experiance, sometimes to watch a mock-battle, or just to see how this place works. The kids love it."

"Well, Spyke won't let them down!" Faith grinned.

If Roxanne used a Rock/Ground type, Absorb would be pretty effective- as far as Faith knew type matchups, anyway. Roxanne would use a Rock type, for sure- but sometimes, as Lily and Thorn told her once, Rock types could have different types, like Steel or something, that made them able to resist Grass attacks.

However, since it was basically a mock-battle, and Roxanne was using a no-Badge pokemon, it was unlikely she'd use a Rock/Steel type anyway.

Probably.

The morning came, and the Nurse Joy who'd asked Faith about the battle came to wake her up. Which was welcome, because Skittles had looked like she was considering getting Echo out of his ball to use Uproar again. Nurse Joy seemed relieved she'd managed to wake Faith up before that.

"The kid's will be here in about an hour- first of all, I'd like you to go out back to the training battlefields, and have all your pokemon ready for presentation." Nurse Joy said, leading Faith through the pokemon centre. "If some of them don't want to do it, that's fine- my sister will be happy to look after them. After the kids have had a look at your team, Roxanne will start the mock-battle. Does that alright?"

"Yeah, sure!"

The training battlefield was a lot like the ones Faith had seen out back in the pokemon centres from the Sinnoh seasons in the anime. Probably why it was called a training battlefield, anyway.

She sent out her team, only just then realising that she was almost at her own set limit.

"You have more pokemon than the normal Trainer." Nurse Joy observed.

"Yeah, since the 'six per Trainer' thing is a guideline I figured I'd take nine with me instead- that's my own limit." Faith explained. She turned to her team. "Okay, you all know what's going on- the kid's are gonna wanna get a look at you for a presentation or whatever it's called. So, who wants in?"

"Demonstrating my Fire and power to the future generation of Trainers is a part of being the best pokemon- I will not deny them the chance to see me!" Torch cried.

" . . . Right."

"It is as Torch said." Tiny nodded. "The children are the future generation, and without them, Trainers would be a thing of the past. Showing them what we can do is a way to inspire them, I should think."

"I'm not saying no, I'm battling anyway!" Spyke said, spinning in the air happily.

"I don't mind- maybe I can show them how to relax . . ." Echo trailed off thoughtfully.

"Shiiiinnyyyy . . ." Bristle muttered.

"Does that mean yes or no?" Faith asked.

"Shiny thing mine."

"I'm starting to think those are the only words she knows." Faith muttered. "You stay here, Bristle, okay?"

"No take shiny thing!"

"Oh, she does know something else."

"Hell no." Skittles bluntly said. "Having a bunch of idiot human brats prodding me to use Assist? If I could control the damn move I'd use that Ember Hurricane Torch made up on them."

"Yeah, don't do that."

"Act'ally, I think there's a way Skitties can control Assist." Glider spoke up. "If you don't wanna show off to the kids, per'aps we could go to the library and find some books on it?"

" . . . You can do that? Take me to the library, now." Skittles demanded. "And teach me to read, it might be useful."

"Your varied knowledge of human culture is still baffling." Glider said.

"Whatever."

"I think I'll go with them." Fang muttered, with a hateful glance at Torch. "I don't wanna be subjected to another Scratch from him . . ."

"One day you'll get over this stupid grude of yours." Faith told him.

"And hell shall freeze over when I do."

Faith rolled her eyes and turned to Nurse Joy. "Skittles, Glider and Fang wanna go to the library- I'm assuming Glider can write, so I guess he can tell your sister why."

"That's fine." Nurse Joy smiled. "So long as they don't make too much noise, it _is_ a library after all."

"They won't. And if they do, Glider can keep them quiet."

"Are you implying something." Skittles seethed.

"You know damn well that I am."

The kids- along with Roxanne- came a little bit earlier than expected. Mostly because they were getting antsy and wanted to get moving because they'd heard they would be getting a good show and a mock-battle in the same trip. Apparently that was unusual and fun.

But whatever, this was a good chance to show off the contest moves Faith and her team had been working on. Though, of course, Echo would have to be left out of it because he hadn't been on the team long enough to have actual contest training- though how she was gonna use sound attacks in a contest, Faith didn't know . . . maybe if they could find some way to make the sound waves visible?

Anyway.

"Which pokemon do you want to see perform first?" Roxanne asked the kids.

Faith stood to the side, away from her team so she could direct them and not get in the way of the kids at the same time. The reason? Well, some of the kids looked interested in her 'costume' and Faith didn't want to get banned from _another_ pokemon centre.

"The Combusken!" pretty much every single kid shouted. A couple asked for 'the Taillow' or 'the Beautifly', but Torch went first by popular demand.

"Start off slow and kinda boring- then go into a Fire Dance." Faith ordered, just loud enough for only Torch to hear- the kids wouldn't know what hit them.

Torch, for once not making a huge speech, nodded.

He got into the first position- feet apart, arms drawn behind him, and head bowed. The kids watched for a few seconds and gradually got bored, but then he moved- slowly, however.

Glider had told Faith that, because Combusken were a type of bird, their balance was excellent. Therefore Faith had decided to try and use that balance in the slow and boring start to the Fire Dance.

Torch lifted up his left leg, bending it so it looked like he was kicking an invisible ball. Slowly, he stretched it out and flexed the claws on his feet, and then moved his arms forward and did the same with the claws on his- er- hands.

Then he got into a relaxed position and slowly dropped to the floor, kneeling with his hands laid out flat. The entire time, his head had been bowed.

"This is boring." one of the kids commented.

"Can't it do anything else?"

"Be nice- I'm sure he's just building up." Roxanne, who had seen him in action (or at least, Gym battle action), scolded the kids.

She was right.

Torch suddenly snapped his head up, eyes wide open- the kids gasped when they saw the faint red-orange glow within them. Torch opened his beak and spat fire onto the ground around him, and then lifted his hands, revealing small Embers formed from within his feathers.

He got into a sort of crouching position, leaving his hand claws almost touching the ground, and then spun. Leaving his claws almost touching the ground meant that he could easily sweep the fires with him as if he was grabbing them physically, dragging the fires around in a circle so it looked like he was trapping himself in a ring of swirling fire.

And then he Danced.

The kids gasped in shock and wonder as Torch got up to his full height and then did a backflip, throwing out a flaming Double Kick that looked like a double Blaze Kick. The fires from his Kicks were thrown out into the air and then they burned out into cinders.

Torch landed back on his feet, both arms swept to the side, and then he spun around. It had taken a while for him to be able to get the control needed, but he'd finally managed it, and the result was that his spinning looked as though he was sweeping the circle of fire with him as he spun.

Torch raised his arms- going faster each time the flames gave a small _fwoosh_ with his spinning- and the swirling flames swallowed him.

At least, it looked that way to those who were watching. In reality, the spinning had created a sort of fire bubble, with Torch still on the inside. By now, he had stopped and the swirling fire, so thick that no one could see through it, had completely obscured it.

Torch used Double Kick again- this time, kicking out at the air. That generated a sort of mock-Gust that blew away the swirling flames, making the fire bubble sort of explode in all directions while at the same time still spinning with Torch's control efforts.

Before the still-spinning flames disappeared completely, Torch drew them in with practised control and jumped again. This time he landed on his hands, and he started spinning again- and the flames left over from the swirling fire were drawn in to his legs.

The fires didn't quite touch his legs, however- and this was made obvious to the audience this time, and the kids (and Roxanne, who clearly thought she had gotten off lightly here too) gasped with delight as the flames were turned into a swirling tornado.

The Fire Dance was actually partly based off of Torch's Ember Hurricane- although he had to use his own Fire control rather than just spitting swirling Embers around, which meant he had to put a lot more effort in. Though, Torch said (in a speech as usual) that he didn't mind, and it just increased the challenge.

So, when Torch dropped his spinning handstand, the flames dropped with him. This time they actually did cover him completely, and then Torch blew out another Double Kick that sent the flames burning out of existance.

There was pure silence as Torch got up from his crouched position and bowed, and then the entire training field burst into applause.

"Holy-" Faith just barely stopped herself from saying the rest of the surprised curse.

Apparently, the other Trainers inside of the pokemon centre had come out at some point, and had gathered around without Faith noticing.

"That- that was amazing!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

"Yep, I really did get off lightly." Roxanne murmured, wide eyed with shock.

"That was awesome!"

"Sweet Combusken, kid!"

"I wonder if the others are as good?"

"Show us some more!"

"That was the best dance I've ever seen!"

Well, hadn't this turned out to be quite the performance? It could be good practice for an actual contest, or at least the Performance part anyway . . .

"Are you gonna show us the rest of your team, miss?" one of the kids begged.

"Well, if you want." Faith shrugged.

Tiny was up next. It would have been Bristle, but she was too . . . well, she was too focussed on beating her opponents unconscious to actually make the stuff look good- so Faith had to leave her out of it until they could find a way to make her not insane.

His performance was mostly centred around the thing he did against Torch. By testing out different speeds and wind combinations, Faith and Glider had been able to figure out a way to get Tiny to get the speed drafts he left behind actually visible.

Tiny started up with a small bow to the now-large crowd, not at all bothered by the size of it. Then he raised his wings and shot off into the air, leaving many of the watchers confused.

"Did the Taillow just ditch us?" someone wondered.

 _Nope,_ Faith smirked. Oh, they were in for a shock. Though, after Torch's Fire Dance, she wasn't sure they'd be that shocked. At least Tiny could make his speed drafts look good.

She concentrated, and saw him high up in the air. He had stopped by now and was dropping, free-falling in other words. Then he straightened himself out and spread his wings, creating a kind of cut through the air. Faith could see some of the air currents spilling off his wings in thin streams, and then she had to cut off her concentration because he was getting closer.

Didn't want to miss it, after all.

Tiny arrived back down with a massive and sudden _**BOOM**_ , hitting the air just above the ground so violently that it actually created a visible shockwave and blasted in all directions. Some of the audience stepped back when the wind hit them, but luckily Tiny had managed to store up some of the shockwave in his own power, so it didn't hurt anyone.

Tiny used the stored-up shockwave so that it looked like he was creating several new shockwaves each time he beat his wings. Then he raised his wings mid-air, and slammed them down so harshly that the backlash threw him up into the air again.

This time, instead of zooming off to get a build-up, Tiny stopped his ascent suddenly by snapping out his wings and catching himself in the air. And then he started to spin rapidly, again using the stored-up shockwave.

The spinning and the stored-up shockwave combined created a swirling hurricane that started out as a small ball formed over Tiny, which then exploded and turned into a full-blown twister.

Tiny then stopped spinning, and the twister carried on because he'd given it enough energy that it could go on without him doing the work. He shot up and down the twister, going over himself several times, creating a small wind backlash in the middle of it. This made it look as though there was a second twister inside of the real one, and then Tiny spread his wings to stop himself from moving again.

And then, drawing back his wings until the tips met behind his back, he beat his wings once.

The two twisters- one real, one semi-fake- blew apart in a shower of wind and disappeared entirely as Tiny glided down to the ground. He settled his claws down and bowed, spreading his wings either side of his body.

There was instant applause.

"I'm actually glad your Taillow's a Flying type." Roxanne told Faith. "Though I don't think Brawley will thank you . . ."

"Eh, this is stuff for contests." Faith shrugged. "We're using pure power for Gyms. Which, now that I think about it, isn't really that much better. For the Gyms."

"Like I said, I'm glad it's Brawley and not me."

After a few minutes- because even if the routine was short, it took a lot out of a tiny Taillow to actually create a massive twister out of almost nothing- the field was ready to be used again.

"So, is your Beautifly going to perform as well?" one of the older Trainers asked.

"Um-"

"Battle!" Spyke cried.

"-no, I don't think so." Faith said. "She just wants to battle right now."

"What about your others?" Roxanne asked. "I seem to recall a Skitty and a Wingull . . ."

"Skittles wanted to figure out how to make Assist not so unpredictable, and Glider's being dragged along because she can't read. I have a Poochyena, but he went along with them." Faith explained.

"Your Whismur and Zigzagoon?" Nurse Joy broke in.

"Echo hasn't been trained for contests yet, and Bristle . . . basically just beats stuff up." Faith shrugged. "So, uh . . . how about we just get to the battle?"

Roxanne sighed and nodded. "Well, I can't stall any longer . . . I really hope this won't be as one-sided as the Gym battle."

Faith remembered how Torch had had a few issues with getting clipped in the knees with solid rock several times and thought that maybe it hadn't been that one-sided.

She took one end of the training field, and Roxanne took the other. Spyke was already out of her ball so Faith simply waved her onto the field, and then Roxanne chucked out her pokeball.

The ball opened and out came a small Anorith.

Wait, what?

"Where the he- heck did you get one of those?" Faith demanded.

"There's a desert north of Mauville, I found a Claw Fossil buried in the sand." Roxanne told her. "Anorith, Water Gun!"

Spyke flew out of the way quickly as a small and probably powerful stream of water gushed at her. The Anorith, smarter than the Water types Faith had faced before (there had been that thing with the Lotad that refused to move when it attacked, but whatever), quickly redirected the attack to where Spyke was about to fly to.

The Water Gun connected and Spyke was shot back a few feet, and then she dropped down a metre or two to where Faith could talk to her without Roxanne overhearing.

"Should I try a contest style or a Gym style?" Spyke asked. "Because this Anorith is definitely not my mate, I can tell you that."

"Contest styles are- go right, quick!- contest styles are built up for this kinda stuff . . . so try Absorb and String Shot." Faith ordered.

Absorb was a strange attack- because Spyke wasn't a Grass type, she had to use different means of actually doing the attack. Unlike actual Grass types, who could just shoot off a seed or two and zap the opponent's strength away, she needed to use her thin mouth thingy and shoot off something that was like a String Shot but zapped away strength instead.

That was why Spyke could use Absorb and String Shot at the same time- String Shot was fired first, to immobilise the opponent, and then Absorb when she was certain the opponent wouldn't move.

Unfortunately, if the opponent managed to get out during the Absorb attack, then they could easily grab the Absorb string and chuck her to the ground- or just hit it with an attack that could go up the string, like a Thundershock or Thunderbolt or something, and Spyke wouldn't be able to get away in time.

However, as Spyke shot off a String Shot to keep the Anorith still, Faith was sure that the Rock/Bug type didn't have any such attacks.

Spyke used Absorb and the Anorith cried out in pain as her strength was zapped, and for once Faith was thankful it was part Rock as well as Bug- otherwise it would have resisted the Grass attack.

And then Roxanne ordered a Water Pulse.

The ball of water, with a small rippling tide following it like in the anime, shot through the air from between Anorith's pinchers, and shot Spyke out of the sky. The Absorb string shifted and then broke when she hit the ground, and Spyke just barely managed to get up before Anorith came in with a Scratch.

The attack hit the ground and made a small dent, and Spyke looked very relieved she'd managed to get away before it hit her.

"Try Gust!" Faith called, getting a little bit desperate.

The way they'd made Gust work for a contest move was basically how they'd made the twiser for Tiny to create in a Performance Stage. Spin quickly and use the attack, was pretty much how they had done it.

So, instead of just beating her butterfly wings and making a normal Gust, she spun at the same time and created something similar to the Counter Shield Ash had worked out in the Sinnoh seasons.

The winds whipped about and carried Anorith up with them, making the small pokemon panic slightly. Then Spyke came in hard with a Gust-infused Tackle, and Anorith was blown out of the makeshift hurricane formed from the Gust Counter Shield.

Down and done, it looked like.

"I can't tell if that was one-sided or even." Roxanne remarked as they both returned their pokemon. "But still- I'm assuming that move was another contest one- you really have a creative way of using attacks."

"I don't use them, my pokemon do. I just give them directions." Faith shrugged.

The crowd gradually went away, talking among themselves about Faith's team and how cool they were (Torch of course drank it all up) and then Faith and Roxanne- along with the kids and Nurse Joy- went to the lobby of the pokemon centre.

While their pokemon were being healed (or in Torch and Tiny's case, rested) Roxanne turned to Faith and held out her hand.

Faith shook it happily.

"You certainly earned that Badge, kid." Roxanne said, as the School kids around them cheered happily. "Don't make that victory useless by giving up halfway through- you and that team of yours has potential."

"Thanks!" Faith grinned. "And I'll try not to destory Dewford's Gym leader too much."

"If you don't want to do that, don't use the Combusken or the Beautifly." Roxanne advised her.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Echo is the Whismur I caught in . . . what was it? Rustboro Tunnel? Verdanturf Tunnel? Whatever. I caught him there, and honestly, he's a bit shit right now.

Paul: Unless you figure out how to evolve the damn thing, it still will be.

Renny: Yeah, I thought the level was 15 for some reason . . . clearly not, he's currently level 18 and still a Whismur. Anyway, the fight with Roxanne was a bit of a let-down considering how tough most Nuzlockers make it look even with a Combusken- the Geodude went down with one Double Kick, and the Nosepass went down to two of them. Torch didn't even get hit once.

Green: Yet you made it so he'd get hit here.

Renny: Well, we can't have it _too_ one-sided. And since Spyke's unlikely to get any action besides contests and possibly the League if she learns a good Bug move or two, I decided to write a mock-battle with Roxanne for her. Oh, and the Fire Dance was much more awesome in my head, I just didn't want to have too much spinning since it basically consisted of that. And I'm not sure if Tiny's Performance makes sense at all, but that's how I think it goes . . .

Paul: Yeah, I'm sure it does.

Renny: Oh shut up. Next up, new team member (hopefully) and also the ferry to Dewford island. Town. Whatever. Read and review!


	9. Chapter 9- Dragon Rage

Renny: Oh, wow, I left a bit of a gap between updates . . . well, not as bad as _Redemption's_ long-awaited fifty-somethingth chapter, but whatever.

Paul: I'm not in this? Sheesh, finally.

Renny: You'll be back in it for Dewford, don't worry. And you weren't in last chapter, so why are you complaining?

Paul: Ugh.

Renny: And Slateport.

Green: I think he gets it.

Renny: Awesome. Disclaimer!

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

Whismur- Male, Relaxed, Echo

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

Traveling on a ferry was a strange experiance for Faith. Several other Trainers going the same way all assumed she was from Johto or another region where you didn't have to Surf as much as Hoenn, so Faith just let them think that.

Knowing that she could have easily just flown across the sea, you could really tell why she was so fascinated with the ferry and how it worked- simply because she didn't know any better. While Faith knew little of her own anatomy (since she'd never been in a Biology lesson despite showing up at her friends' school sometimes for the fun of it), she did know that her wings and bones had something to do with how she could stay in the air, and her tail played a big part too.

So, while Faith was off trying to figure out what made the giant hunk of metal actually float and move at the same time, her pokemon were left to their own devices.

Naturally this meant the sane half of the team had to keep the _in_ sane half in check.

"You can't 'ave that either!" Glider squawked, snatching a pokeball from Bristle's mouth. He quickly flew over to the Trainer she'd taken it from, and gave it back.

Then he looked around and saw she was doing the same thing with another Trainer, only this time it wasn't just a pokeball.

"He's not doing very well." Skittles commented, as the Wingull sped through the air to stop Bristle yet again.

"We could help him." Fang suggested. "That way Bristle wouldn't steal random crap."

He growled as Torch walked by, Tiny perched on his shoulder. The two were engaged in some kind of fancy discussion that Skittles really didn't want to listen to at all.

"No, this is too amusing." Skittles said. "And do you need to do that every time Shakespeare walks by with Shakespeare the second? It's annoying and stupid."

"Meh. I hate him. You see this scar?"

"You've only mentioned it five hundred times."

Basically this meant Glider doing most of the work, and Skittles not doing anything purely because she was too lazy.

 _Though of course, that doesn't exactly mean she won't help out period,_ Spyke thought. Well, she hoped so anyway.

Echo was in their room (which was free for Trainers with a very low budget, so this meant Faith got a free room) and as far as the Beautifly could tell, Torch and Tiny were headed back that way too. Bristle was being watched over by Glider, and Skittles and Fang were hanging around them as well.

So, that left Spyke with nothing to do inside the ferry. As a Beautifly, she preferred the open air- having spent a few days as a Silcoon sort of made her . . . let's say _dislike_ cramped spaces. And while the inside of a ferry wasn't all that bad considering how tight the shell of her previous form had been, she still felt she was better off outside on the deck.

So naturally Spyke, following the directions of some Machoke who worked alongside the humans on the ferry, found her way to the upper decks and into the open air.

Beating her silky wings to keep her 'in place' on the ferry (if she'd just hovered or something, she would have been left behind) Spyke glanced around. It seemed that other Flying pokemon, some Beautifly like herself and a few Dustox as well, had the same idea, so at least she wasn't alone.

Obviously humans were on the deck too, but most of them were at the weird puddle at the back of the ship, diving into it and swimming around in it. Which made little sense to her, but whatever, maybe she could get Glider to explain stuff like he always did.

And while she was wandering around, looking for the giant puddle thing to see if she could figure out the appeal of it for humans, Spyke found someone she'd never thought she'd see again.

"Brother?"

The strange-coloured Dustox froze in the air, which made the man next to him glance up in concern.

"Dustox?" the man asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course." the Dustox said shakily. The human, unlike Faith, couldn't understand this but he seemed to get the idea anyway.

And then the strange-coloured Dustox turned in the air, and stared at Spyke.

"Do . . . I know you?" he asked.

"Of course you know me!" Spyke exclaimed. "It's me, brother!"

" . . . Wait." Dustox gaped at her. "You're my little- my little sister!"

Finally. They rushed each other and collided halfway, which did startle the human but neither Bug pokemon cared- they'd found their sibling at last.

"I never thought I'd see you again, not after that Trainer caught you!" Spyke cried.

"Same." Dustox grinned. "Though of course, I was just a Cascoon, so obviously I couldn't do much to stop him. But he's a good person."

"That's so cool." Spyke would have grinned had she had an actual mouth like anyone else.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well, you're the only shiny in the entire forest." Spyke shrugged.

"You know a human ter- oh wait, you're a fully evolved pokemon, of course you'd know a few terms." Dustox rolled his eyes and grinned sheepishly. "So I guess you got caught too, huh?"

"Yeah, that place the humans called root . . . one-oh-four or something." Spyke told him. "But I like it- and I beat a Gym leader's pokemon yesterday!"

"A _Gym leader_?"

Despite being wild pokemon, Gym leaders were very well-known among all colonies of pokemon- specifically because being trained by a Gym leader was one of the highest honours (the other being chosen for an Elite Four team, or even the Champion's in rare cases) a wild pokemon could ever hope to get.

Most didn't get captured for the honour, as a lot of wild pokemon were caught by normal Trainers. However, if the Trainer was a League battler, that meant the captured pokemon would have a chance to _defeat_ a Gym leader- something which was considered awe-inspiring, almost surprassing being on a leader's team altogether.

Hence why Spyke's big brother was so impressed.

"Hey, Trainer, I wanna go and talk with my little sister for a while. Do you mind?" Dustox said, turning back to his Trainer.

Again, the man couldn't understand- but he did get the general idea, as did many Trainers who weren't complete morons or cruel to their pokemon (as Paul had been, but now that he could actually understand pokemon everything changed for him).

"I guess you know that Beautifly." the man said. "You wanna catch up with it, right? Go on ahead- we won't get to the Puddle Islands for a while yet."

"Great!" Dustox grinned.

So Spyke spent the next hour or so catching up with her brother, who gave her his story (which wasn't as exciting as hers had been so far) in exchange for her own since leaving the forest and Route where they lived. Understandably, Dustox was shocked to learn of her experiances- and about how quickly she changed from Silcoon to Beautifly.

"That wasn't normal?" Spyke asked.

"Not really." Dustox shook his head. They were both resting on top of the roof of the little room where the humans steered the ferry, if only to make sure Dustox's dust didn't get into anyone's eyes. "For me, it took something like an entire month, and I'd already been a Cascoon for a couple of months before that."

"Maybe it's because we trained a lot?" Spyke suggested. She'd left out the important bits, like Faith not being from their world at all, and the fact that she had some kind of 'pure Aura' which could have easily been why Spyke had evolved into a Beautifly so quickly (Aura has actually been known to speed up evolution simply because of the energy that Aura Users radiated, even when untapped).

"Maybe." Dustox shrugged. "But whatever- at least now we can both actually speak to each other without having a barrier of silk in between us."

"Tell me about it." Spyke shuddered. "No one could actually understand me- heck, not even Faith could."

"Faith? You mean your Trainer Faith?" Dustox checked. "She's human, of course she can't understand you."

Need to be more careful, Spyke.

"A-anyway. What're you doing all the way out here, anyway?" Spyke quickly changed the subject.

"Oh, now there's a good a story." Dustox grinned. "My Trainer's family lives in the Puddle Islands, so we're going out there to go and visit them. After that, he wants to start collecting Badges- we already have Rustboro and Dewford's- to enter the League. We're gonna try and win the whole thing!"

"Wow, really? That's what Faith's doing too!" Spyke exclaimed.

 _Though not for the reasons you'd think,_ she privately thought.

"We're also gonna be entering contests too." Spyke went on.

"I thought Trainers could only do one thing?" Dustox blinked, confused.

"No- there's no law against it, at least that's what Glider says." Spyke shrugged, her wings rippling with the movement. "So Faith wants to try out contests as well as Gyms. Even if I beat a Gym leader's pokemon, I'd love to try out a contest and see how far I can get in one!"

"I've heard that Beautifly do really well in the Performance Stage." Dustox pointed out. "So maybe you should try and figure out how to tell Faith that, sis."

"Thanks!" Failing to mention that all she'd need to do was just _tell_ Faith, and she wouldn't need to find some way around the 'language barrier' that most Trainers had with their pokemon.

" . . . Hang on, what's going on over there?"

Spyke, a little startled at the sudden subject change, glanced down at where one of Dustox's legs was pointing.

And was instantly alert.

In one of the small corners of the ferry, a group of Machoke and Machop were backing a small and chubby-looking pokemon into the corner. There were no humans around at the moment, so obviously the Machoke and Machop thought they could get away with whatever they were doing to the chubby pokemon.

"Come on." Dustox scowled.

He'd always hated those that picked on others, and would stand up to them even after he'd evolved and became basically incapable of doing anything but threaten and spit silk and sort of awkwardly bounce around. After he'd been caught, Spyke had mostly taken that job up, but Dustox's actions had left most a little bit more than scared to even try anything.

So, she'd gone off to find a Trainer, and even though her parents had wanted at least one of their kids to stay in the forest, they'd supported her.

And now it looked like the chubby pokemon needed some support.

The six Fighting pokemon- four Machoke and two Machop- were understandably shocked when a massive Gust and a Psybeam combined pushed them back a few feet away from the little chubby pokemon.

"You know, I never did like it when a group of pokemon ganged up on a single pokemon." Dustox said, glaring at the Fighting types.

"Six-on-one battles can't really be considered battles." Spyke agreed. "I think we can pin this down as bullying."

"So, how's about us two even up the odds?" Dustox asked.

"Hey, we don't want no trouble." one of the Machoke said.

Obviously he, and presumably the others, knew better than to fight two fully-evolved pokemon with attacks that could easily kick their asses overboard.

"Should have thought of that before you ganged up on this pokemon." Dustox scolded him.

Then he fired off another Psybeam, and the Machoke and Machop scattered in different directions as the attack hit the ground between them.

Spyke quickly shot off a String Shot at two of the Machoke, binding them to a steel pole nearby. Dustox fired off his own String Shot at the two Machop, and then together they got the last two Machoke.

Without even exchanging so much as a look, the two Bug types used Gust in unison. The pokemon held in the String Shot were hit with a full-force wind that cut their bodies- and possibly their pride, Spyke hoped- and couldn't do a thing to get away simply because of the Strings keeping them in place.

Dustox dropped back, and Spyke flew into the middle of the gang of Fighting types- and then started spinning mid-air. One by one she fired off three Absorb strings, and then, still spinning, started to suck away their energies. After counting for five seconds, Spyke fired off another Gust- and felt the winds of Dustox's Gust join the attack- and trapped the Machoke and Machop inside of a miniture tornado.

Dustox's Gust gave the tornado the extra power needed to actually keep the mini tornado stablised, and even when the String Shots were broken by the slicing winds, the Machoke and Machop still couldn't move because of the counter-wind given by the extra power coming from Dustox's attack.

And then Spyke stopped both of her attacks, and shot out of the way as the full force of Dustox's Gust hit all of the pokemon at once- blowing them right overboard.

Oh well, they were technically sailors, they should know how to swim.

"That was interesting." Dustox commented as Spyke came back down to him.

"Fun, too." she agreed.

"That was amazing!"

They both turned to the chubby pokemon, who was grinning at them with awe and a bit of shock (the good kind, though).

"Oh- I'm sorry, where are my manners?" the pokemon laughed. "Thanks for helping me out. I'd like to say I could have handled it, but then I'd be lying- and Boss told me that lying is bad."

"Boss? Do you work here, then?" Dustox asked him.

"Nah- I got a Trainer in Mauville city." the pokemon shrugged.

"Mauville city . . .?" Spyke murmured, confused.

"It's this huge city somewhere north of another city called Slateport." Dustox explained. "But if you have a Trainer there, why are you here?"

"Smugglers." was the pokemon's answer. "Apparently Makuhita was high on the list for them."

"Oh, so that's what you are?" Spyke asked. She'd never seen a Makuhita before, but from what Faith said, their final evolution (something called a Hariyama) was a pretty powerful pokemon.

"Yeah, name's Makit." the Makuhita said, holding out a- uh- glove? Yeah, glove.

"I'm Dustox," Dustox smiled, shaking it with one of his top legs. "And this is my sister, Spyke."

"Hi!" Spyke exclaimed, shaking Makit's glove like her brother had done.

Dustox settled down on the floor, and Spyke quickly did the same. Makit, probably tired from, well, whatever those bullies were even doing, sat down too.

"So, you said smugglers took you away from your Trainer?" Dustox asked. "If you don't mind, how did you get away? Are they on this ferry?"

"I wish!" Makit huffed, crossing his arms. "Then I'd make them sorry they ever took me from Boss . . ."

"Guess that's a no." Spyke said.

"Unfortunately." Makit nodded. "Basically, I got away from the boat they were using by busting open the cage I was in- apparently they don't often smuggle Fighting types, so it was pretty easy to break the cage. From there I escaped the boat, and I nearly got caught again before a Tentacruel saved me. She took me away from the smugglers, and then helped me get onto the boat. 'It goes all the way to the City on Sand,' she said, 'so just stay on it until you get there.' So, I stayed on here, and then a couple of days later those guys found me and tried to kick me off for stowing away. And then you two came in."

"Oh, so they were trying to get rid of you." Spyke tilted her head slightly. "Maybe you should have told them what happened? I'm sure they would have understood."

"I did tell them- but none of them would listen." Makit sighed. "So they tried to throw me off by force. I guess they didn't believe me, if their reaction was anything to go by."

"Obviously not." Dustox said. "But they're gone- for now at least- so what are you gonna do now?"

"Not sure. I heard this boat makes a few detours- the Puddle Islands, Dewford town, Cyan Beach- before it gets to Slateport. So the plan was basically to just hide until it gets to Slateport, or at least switch between boats on each port so there's less chance of getting thrown off." Makit explained.

"Keep going around without a Trainer and you'll get thrown off sooner rather than later." Dustox observed. "Why don't you stick to a human and pretend they're your Trainer?"

"Already tried it. Humans on this boat are . . . well, they kind of took offense to a pokemon following them around. Not sure why." Makit said.

"Well, now that you mention it, my own Trainer would probably do the same." Dustox murmured. "Otherwise I'd find some way to help you out."

Spyke blinked. Normal Trainers were like that, sure. They wouldn't exactly like a pokemon following them around, even if it was for a good reason. However . . .

Faith wasn't a normal Trainer, was she?

"Hey, my Trainer wouldn't mind." Spyke pointed out.

Makit turned to her, a little more than surprised.

"What- he wouldn't?" the Makuhita repeated.

"She, and no, she wouldn't mind at all. In fact, she'd probably be happy to help you!" Spyke cried. Well, she asumed Faith would. The young Draco was a bit . . . well, not to say an ass, but she was a bit rude at times.

"Sweet!"

 **oooo**

" . . . Where's the boat now?" Faith asked. "Do you know?"

"Somewhere between the Puddle Islands and Rustboro port, I'm not entirely sure." Makit shrugged, taking the whole 'understands pokemon' thing into his stride.

"Good enough."

She walked over to the window and opened it- with a bit of difficulty- and then jumped out.

"Woah!" Makit cried, rushing over the the window. He jumped up and held on, pulling himself up so he could at least see over the edge-

And was blown back by a sudden gust of wind as a big blur of _something_ blew past.

"She's pissed." the Skitty lying on the bed observed.

"S-she?" Makit repeated. "Did she just send out some kind of Dragon?"

"No, she _is_ the dragon." Spyke told him. "It's . . . complicated."

In the distance, Makit could just about make out a humanoid shape flying- actually flying!- across the ocean in the direction he'd pointed out to Faith.

" . . . Is she some kind of Zoroark?" Makit asked. "Like, she got trapped between two Illusions and can't turn it off?"

"What's a Zoroark?"

"Zoroark's known as the Illusion Fox pokemon." the Wingull, perched on a hat stand in the corner, explained. "As the name suggests, it's able to create illusions. Those're actually really solid- in fact, the illusions a Zoroark makes are pretty almost as real as anythin' else."

"That sounds cool."

"But if your Trainer's a Zoroark, how come you don't know what one is?" Makit asked.

"Should we tell him?" Spyke asked the three other pokemon in the room that were awake (apparently there was a Combusken and a Tailow as well, but they were somewhere else, the Whismur was asleep and the Zigzagoon was apparently insane).

"Skittles?" the Poochyena asked, turning to the Skitty next to him.

Was she the second-in-command, like how Makit was with the Boss's team? It certainly seemed that way to Makit anyway.

"Why the hell are you asking me?"

Though she didn't seem to think so.

"Fine, whatever, go ahead- Faith won't be back for a while, may as well fill the damn time with _some_ thing." Skittles eventually told the pokemon.

So, they told him. With varying degrees of . . . well, accuracy, since Skittles had apparently had her say and- despite being the first pokemon, the first living being, to have met Faith- didn't want to bother saying anything else for the time being.

" . . . Wow." Makit said, once they'd finished. "That's some story."

"It's not just a story, mate!" Spyke cried. "It's one-hundred-percent true!"

"I know, I was just saying." Makit waved a glove to show he hadn't meant to offend anyone.

Then Faith flew back in- doing some kind of twist mid-air so she could slip back in without having to stop and cling to the side of the ferry for any long amount of time.

"Find them alright?" Skittles asked flatly, looking at Faith with the most bored expression Makit had ever seen on anyone.

"Yep!" Faith exclaimed brightly.

"Who did you find?" Makit asked, not quite understanding.

"The smugglers."

" . . . I may need a better explanation." he admitted.

"Well, if it helps, their boat is currently in pieces across the ocean."

"What." Skittles said.

Makit decided to never, ever, piss off this girl.

"Well, I guess we'll see it on the news later." Glider spoke up. "How about we all 'ang around the dining room, in case it pops up?"

"Sounds like a plan." the Poochyena, who was called Fang for good reason (his fangs were huge), said. He stood up and for the first time Makit noticed the long scar running down his back- it was jagged, as if some kind of amateur make-up artist or something had tried to create a weird movie effect. It was interesting, worth asking about.

And Makit, being Makit, didn't like leaving things unasked.

"How'd you get that scar?" Makit asked as the Dark type jumped down onto the floor, Skittles not too far behind him.

"Oh, this?" Fang twisted so he could see the scar in question, and about half the room panicked.

"No, don't get him started on-"

Fang broke in before Skittles could finish. "An evil Fire-bird attacked me one day. I was just minding my own business, you know? Making a bit of dirt, as we dog pokemon tend to do. And then, after I'd finished, a red Fire-bird just attacked me out of nowhere! I fought back of course, but the Fire-bird was powerful and-"

"Torch used Scratch once and I caught Fang." Faith interrupted.

" . . . Uh." Makit said.

"I'll explain on the way." Glider spoke up, gliding down onto Faith's tail.

"You know you can't do that here, right?" Faith asked, bringing the tail up so she could see him without craning her neck. "It's the head or the shoulders, not the tail. Or wings."

"Didn't you try to attack the last living being to touch your tail? Or try to touch it?" Fang asked.

"Glider's different." Faith told him.

"How, exactly?"

"He just is."

"No, really, tell me."

"I just did."

"Tell me dammit!"

"I just did."

"Tell. Me."

"I just-"

"You say 'I just did' one more time and I will Bite your face off." Fang snapped.

"Welcome to Crazy city, Makit." Skittles said, walking out of the room. "It's not too late to walk out."

"I think I'm in for a very interesting time." Makit murmured.

At least she wasn't shouting at him to 'get lost or I'll call the captain'.

 **oooo**

Spyke flew beside Dustox and Glider, all three flying pokemon keeping pace with the ferry as it Surfed across the ocean. Glider's reaction to Dustox had been one of shock, since apparently shiny pokemon were incredibly rare. But to Spyke and Dustox, it was normal- he'd been that way since hatching.

So instead of asking Glider to explain why shiny pokemon were so revered among humans and occasionally some pokemon colonies, Spyke asked him about the weird giant puddle at the back of the ferry.

"That's called a swimmin' pool." Glider told her. "Humans use to for swimmin' in- you know, like Water types but they can't breathe underwater. They just swim and play."

"Why do humans need a puddle for swimming if they have a whole ocean?" Spyke asked.

" _I_ think it's something to do with the saltwater." Dustox spoke up, sounding thoughtful. "I dunno if I can understand it, but I think my Trainer said that he didn't like the way it tasted- and since humans sometimes accidently open their mouths while swimming, it'd make sense why they'd rather have a purified swimming puddle and not the ocean."

"Oh, now I get it!"

Glider looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't and just shook his head with a smile.

Soon enough, the conversation drifted to the smugglers, and what might happen to them- no one had seen them on the magic box Glider said was a TV, so the three flying pokemon had requested that someone be sent to let them know if it was on at all.

"I still can't believe anyone would actually make a living out of stealing and selling pokemon." Dustox said in disgust. "It's . . . it's not right."

"I'd love to say they can't 'elp bein' bad, but then I'd be lying." Glider murmured. "To be honest, and I dunno why, but they seem like they remind me a bit of those Team Aqua Grunts- mostly 'cus they kidnap others."

"Team Aqua?"

"They were after the boy we told you about- Paul." Spyke told him. "We still don't know why."

Technically it was the truth. Glider, and basically any other coherant members of the team plus Faith, had come up with a few ideas about why Team Aqua would want Paul (possibly mostly, considering how many times Paul had seen them and the amount of times Tiny had fought them off) and also Faith as well.

The most recent was that they knew about the Legend that Tiny had told them about, but if Team Aqua didn't know about it then Glider's idea had been that they were after the two because they had- or would have- special abilities/powers. Arceus knows how they got the information, though.

That was actually the main worry, how Team Aqua managed to find out about anything. Unless they were just being like the Team Rocket that Faith described from the anime (with Paul's occasional comment and story about them, apparently he'd had a few run-ins as well), in which case they were nothing more than petty thieves.

"We ain't really sure who they are." Glider said. "They dress like blue pirates, so per'aps you could keep an eye out for us?"

"Sure!" Dustox nodded. "Assuming that you guys won't be lazy and rely purely on me for updates, of course."

"Like we could try." Spyke would have smirked had she had a mouth.

"Hey!"

The three looked up in unison. Echo was balancing strangely well on the rail of the ferry, looking down at them with his strange-but-working eyes. Glider, Spyke and Dustox flew up to him, and he jumped down onto the floor of the ferry. Maybe he hadn't balanced as well as Spyle had thought.

"Just came to let y'all know." Echo went on. "The news is on. Dunno if the smugglers're gonna be on or not, but Faith thought we should get y'all anyway- just in case, y'see?"

"We do see." Glider nodded. He glanced at Dustox. "Dustox, would you like to come? Your Trainer did give you permission to 'ang 'round us, but . . ."

"He'll be fine. The ferry doesn't dock for a day or two anyway, it's not like I can actually go anywhere." Dustox shrugged his wings. "Besides wander aimlessly around the ocean, obviously."

"Awesome dudes, let's get moving." Echo said.

He hopped onto Spyke's back and the now-four pokemon made their way through the halls (dodging a few random humans and pokemon along the way, much to some small children's amusement) and to the dining hall- mostly following Glider, since he had what was apparently called a 'photographic memory'.

They found Faith sitting at a large table with the rest of the team either sitting on said table or on the chairs if there was one. Bristle was held firmly in Torch's grasp, where even she knew better than to struggle and make a problem out of everything.

Several humans didn't seem to know why Faith had her entire team out, and as the returning pokemon came back in to settle on the table (no chairs left) Dustox gained a lot of admiring looks.

"Shiny pokemon are apparently very revered for humans." Tiny spoke up, sounding and looking somewhat confused. "I must admit I do not understand it, but, well, to each their own I suppose."

"A shiny pokemon's colours are unusual, and their potential is even more so because of this very reason!" Torch cried. "That is why the humans find them so enthra-"

"Torch, shush, it's coming on." Faith whispered.

Indeed it was. Spyke turned around to see the TV (the big box-like thing on the wall above the food counter thingy) show the images from the 'scene of crime' that Faith had apparently left behind.

Even Skittles' jaw dropped.

 _"These images are coming in live from our reporter on-scene."_ the woman on the TV said. _"Accounts from various people have allowed us to piece together what happened, though the details on what actually caused this destruction still remain a complete mystery. Jose?"_

The image switched to a man on a boat, with the wreckage behind him as a backdrop. _"Illegal though it was, almost every crew member can tell us this- they were doing a 'routine drop-off' in the distance Puddle Islands. The only sign of warning they had, according to several eye-witnesses, was the sound of some kind of pokemon ramming into the boat at full-throttle. Almost immediately afterwards, the pokemon- which is thought to be some type of Dragon- flew up into the air and created a cyclone that broke the ship in half. After causing chaos among smugglers and captured pokemon alike, the Dragon then proceeded to tear apart the two halves of the ship with, according to the leader of the smugglers, 'terrifying accuracy and speed'._

 _"After making this devestation, the Dragon then simply left- and, not five minutes later, an anonymous call was placed to the police of Puddle Islands telling them where to find the smugglers and the trapped pokemon. Reports of what this Dragon even looked like aren't exactly . . . coherant, or possibly true, but we do send out our thanks to the Dragon- and to whoever placed the call, too. The smugglers are now currently held in Puddle Islands jail and are awaiting trial to be sent to prison, and the rest of their smuggling ring will hopefully be found over the next few days. The police are calling the owners of the pokemon stolen, and it is our hope that all pokemon are returned home safely."_ the man said. _"Back to you, Myria."_

The entire team gaped at the images being replayed on the screen, and then they all turned back to Faith- not quite in unison.

" . . . How?" Fang was the first to find his voice. Apparently this shock was enough to stop him from growling at Torch for three seconds.

"I'm a Draco." was all Faith said. "And I heard stories about animal smuggling in my world, so I thought, since I can actually do something about them here, I may as well."

"But . . . you _broke their ship_." Skittles stressed. "That thing probably weighed . . . something over a hundred thousand tonnes! Maybe more!"

"I'm not seeing the issue." Faith shrugged. She got up and returned Bristle, who maybe understood the situation and was probably just as shocked as the rest of them, and started to return everyone else.

Possibly before they could ask her how she broke an entire ship. And then tore it apart.

With her bare hands.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I just wanted to try and get Makit in there somehow- he's not honestly part of the team, but he was a trade I'd gotten for a Slakoth (if I don't catch the pokemon needed for a trade somewhere, I just catch it anyway, technically it's legal since I don't use the caught one) so he's in there, and he had been used a few times, though not honestly much, so I decided to put him in because he was used.

Paul: . . . Right. Explain the thing with the ship.

Renny: She's a Draco, they're different to humans- only similar in appearance, speech and . . . a few other things that I'm too lazy to mention. Anyway, team updates . . .

 **Faith: Makuhita- Male, Hardy, Makit**

Paul: That crappy explanation actually doesn't help me. At all.

Renny: Deal with it. I made up her species, I can make her as strong as I want too. But this is basically a warning- don't piss off a Draco. The guy she beat up for almost touching her tail got off lightly, if the ship is anything to go by. And I'm sure basically everyone but Faith (who is actually used to it and therefore doesn't think it's unusual) is thinking the exact same thing.

Green: I guess this also shows she can restrain herself? Like, a lot?

Renny: Yeah, if she had restraint issues, the guy in the pokemon centre would have been dead or something, and anyone who pissed her off since then would also be dead and . . . well, whatever comes after that. Anyway, I introduced a new character, technically. Here we go . . .

 **(Shiny) Dustox- Male, Brave, Dustox**

Renny: Yes, Spyke's brother is shiny. Next chapter is back to Faith (I wanted a change, that tiny thing we got with Bristle wasn't enough for me) and Dewford town- also Paul and Brendan appear as well. Probably. Read and review, peeps!


	10. Chapter 10- Pinky

Renny: Currently as I type, the previous chapter is being ignored. I think. Well I can't tell since I don't bother with the viewing stuff, but I do happen to keep track with reviews- so somebody review, so I can tell whether or not you people even bother anymore! I thought you liked this fanfic?

Paul: Apparently not.

Renny: Quiet, you. Someone do the disclaimer before I end up ranting about how no one reads my crap!

Paul: Uh-

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Paul: Did you do that on purpose?

Green: Tell anyone and I'll kill you, but I kinda miss doing what you do.

Paul: You can have this 'job' back then.

Renny: I can hear you. On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

Whismur- Male, Relaxed, Echo

Makuhita- Male, Hardy, Makit

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

 _"All passengers for Dewford town, we are coming into port shortly. I repeat- all passengers for Dewford town, we will be coming into the port shortly. Thank you."_

"Fucking finally." Skittles muttered.

"What, you don't like water?" Faith asked sarcastically. "Or boats?"

"I'd rather stay on dry land."

"You're so weird." Faith told her.

Everyone besides Skittles, who hated pokeballs, and Makit, whose ball Faith didn't even have or own, were staying in their pokeballs. At least until they finally got to the pokemon centre and got a room or something. Even if she didn't know much about people and all that, Faith did at least know that no one would like the walkway-plank thingy that let the humans get off the ferry safely to be crowded with pokemon.

And since she carried three more than the normal Trainer, well, it'd be even worse. But at least she didn't have a massive pokemon, like an Aggron or something.

Even if she could have just flown off the ferry, Faith walked off with Skittles on her shoulder and Makit by her side. Mostly because she'd gotten a rant- uh, call from Professor Birch about the smugglers ship she'd broken. He said something along the lines of 'act human, dammit' or whatever, so she now had to tone down the extremities.

No one said anything about _not_ doing them, though.

"Hey, I see your idiot friend." Skittles suddenly said.

Faith blinked, and stood on her toes to see over a few random people, and saw nothing.

"Idiot friend?" she asked, getting back on her feet properly.

"Paulie."

"Oh. I didn't see him."

"That'd probably be because- oh wow." Skittles cut herself off, sounding uncharacteristically shocked.

"What? What is it- oh."

"Hi." Paul said, from about three feet away.

Faith tried not to stare. She failed epically. So she tried not to ask.

"What the hell happened to your hair?"

She failed that too.

Paul sighed and raised his hand, taking a small bit of his now _bright pink hair_ in his grip. Faith gaped, and was too shocked and way too confused to even think about how funny the whole situation was.

"Overexcited Smeargle with hair dye." he said, wincing slightly. "Not a good combination."

"Understatement." Skittles gasped. And then she fell off Faith's shoulder, and it took a couple of panicked seconds for Faith to realise she was laughing.

It was contagious.

"Shut up." Paul muttered, looking completely embarrassed.

"I'm not entirely sure what's going on." Makit admitted.

"They're being mean." Paul explained.

"Oh- my- Stars!" Faith gasped. "You- have the- worst- l-luck . . . EVER!"

"Yes, I know, stop rubbing it in already."

On a normal day- which wasn't exactly common anymore- she would have felt bad for the run of bad luck Paul had had since he'd come into this world. But, well . . . he had _bright pink hair_. You'd have to be dead not to laugh at him!

"I can see we're all getting along."

The new voice distracted Faith, and then she realised that it wasn't actually a new voice at all. She gradually stopped laughing, not without feeling like she should carry on for the sake of it, and glanced up at the newcomer to the conversation.

"Heya Brendan!" she grinned. "I take it you've met Pinky- pffff- Paul here?"

"Yeah, and then I got a call from Dad saying he's apparently in the same situation as you but . . . different." Brendan shrugged helplessly. He glanced around, as if checking that no one was listening. "Maybe we should go somewhere private. If your Skitty doesn't stop laughing we won't be able to talk to each other freely."

"Not- my- fucking- fault!" Skittles gasped out, still in the process of laughing at Paul's _pink hair_.

Faith snorted a bit, and then, as Paul glared at her, she suddenly noticed something sitting on his head.

"Uh, Paul?"

"What now?" Paul grumbled.

"Why is there a yellow and white cotton ball on your head?" Faith asked him.

"Hello!" the yellow and white cotton ball chirped brightly.

"Oh, the cotton ball's a pokemon!" Faith exclaimed. "What's her name and what is she?"

"Lyric, and she's a Swablu." Paul blinked. "Shouldn't you know this? I mean, you knew what Willow was the second you saw her, right?"

"That's only because me and Lily kicked ass with a Breloom card." Faith explained. "I'm sure I mentioned this."

"Told you Breloom were awesome."

"And where have you been?" Paul demanded.

"Kicking the ass of some moron with a Taillow." Willow told him. "He thought he could catch me with a type advantage."

"Uh, hello, can we find some place to talk?" Brendan interrupted.

"Right, sorry, got distracted." Faith nodded.

"I'll say . . ."

"Sorry?" Faith narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing."

 **oooo**

"Your story's even wierder than hers' is." Brendan said, once the two otherworlders had finished their tale (again).

"Is that meant to be a compliment?" Paul asked.

"Not exactly." the older boy said. "But . . . well, if you add in Tiny's Legend or whatever he calls it, it does make sense. And I've heard of people who can do insane stuff like the things you described, so I guess it isn't that farfetched."

"Why are we bringing Farfetch'd into this?" Faith asked.

"Nevermind."

Willow gave Paul a long, considering look- and then scoffed. "I'm still not seeing how you're some kind of prophecy boy. I understand the girl- she broke a whole damn ship- but you? Nah, not seeing anything."

"She did _what_?" Paul exclaimed.

"What'd your Breloom say?" Brendan asked.

"Willow says that Faith broke a ship."

Brendan stared at Faith, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"You mean the Dragon who broke apart the smugglers' ship was _you_?" Brendan gaped.

"You have pokemon that created time and fucking space, why is me breaking a ship so shocking to you people? I'm not human, I do what I want." Faith said.

"You certainly do." Brendan said faintly. He visibly decided to try and ignore the information, though. "Moving on . . . You said your plan was basically to enter the League challenge and the contests?"

"Yeah." Faith nodded. "If either of us won either one, we'd be able to get access to Mirage Island- and therefore Latias and Latios, who could probably help us out. Since apparently the Dragon's Child is something to do with them, that is."

"It makes sense, but people who recognise you might not agree with that." Brendan told her.

"So we don't tell them, duh." Paul rolled his eyes. "We can't just walk up to someone and say 'hey, we're from a totally different world and we're involved in some kind of Legend that a Taillow told us about, would you mind directing us to the pokemon League or contest League?'."

"Grand Festival." Faith, Skittles, Willow, Makit and Brendan told him.

"Whatever."

"If you're gonna do contests, you'll have to remember this stuff." Brendan warned him. "Anyway, you won't be telling people about why you're doing Gyms and contests, obviously. What I'm talking about it something entirely different. The two of you right now would be considered League challengers- since you've both got a Badge or two, people would assume that instantly. But once you get a Ribbon or two, people're gonna see you as Freelancers, and most people think pretty low of Freelancers."

"You're not 'most people', right?" Faith asked him.

"Arceus, no, I'm not shallow." Brendan grinned. "But you may wanna be careful about that. Obviously don't tell people about the reasons why, but just be careful around other Trainers, or people in general. The reporters and people like that love Freelancers, for reasons completely unknown- maybe they like humiliating them or something- but anyone else would just look down on you. Until you win either one, of course, then you're some kind of prodigy."

" . . . Wow, and I thought my world was bad enough with this crap." Faith said.

"Huh?"

"Something something skin colour." Faith told him. "Apparently being born with a different skin colour means you're somehow beneath those who are paler. I'm not sure how it works, but that's humans for you- complete morons sometimes." Forgetting she was speaking to two humans, that is.

Brendan shook his head and glanced between the two not-from-this-worlders and their pokemon. Well, plus one that didn't belong to Faith, but whatever. Who was counting?

"Since you're both in Dewford and not the Puddle Islands, I take it you're gonna try for Brawly's Badge?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Why would I be at the Puddle Islands?" Faith asked, at the same time that Paul said "Well, kinda."

"There's a Gym at the Puddle Islands." Brendan explained.

"What."

"That's just dumb." Skittles muttered. "Why would that weirdo place have a Gym?"

"There are loads of Gyms, but the most common ones are sort of in major cities and towns." Brendan shrugged, sort of answering Skittles even if he couldn't understand her. "And what'd you mean, 'kinda'?"

"You don't need to know that." Paul muttered.

"Basically, Paulie here decided to be his usual idiot self and-"

Paul shoved a hand over Willow's mouth before she could finish. Lyric, however, seemed to know exactly what she was going to say.

"He used me and Jack in the Dewford Gym." she cheeped.

"Who's Jack?" Faith asked.

"My Aron." Paul sighed.

"You used a Steel type in the Fighting Gym?" Makit burst out, looking like he wanted to hit Paul with Arm Thrust or something. "Are you insane?"

"Maybe, we're getting him tested next week." Willow said.

"Shut up." Paul snapped.

"I missed half of that. Care to explain?" Brendan asked.

 _I keep forgetting not everyone can understand pokemon,_ Faith thought. It was a little bit confusing, especially when Paul of all people could understand them too- but for totally different reasons to Faith's, of course.

That also meant that most people would be left out of half the conversation between Faith/Paul and a pokemon. Which meant she'd have to translate. Goody.

"This moron here decided to use a Steel and Rock type in a Fighting type Gym." Faith explained, nodding to Paul.

"Hey!" the boy protested.

"He also used his Swablu, which . . . well, I assume you're half Flying at least?" Faith asked.

"Yep, Flying/Normal!" Lyric grinned at her.

"Swablu are Flying and Normal typed." Brendan said at the same time. "Also, I don't think they're golden either. Normal Swablu are, well, blue. Is yours a shiny?"

"I guess? I've never seen a shiny Swablu." Paul shrugged.

. . . Wow.

Paul had caught a shiny? Faith had seen a few- hell, Spyke's brother was a shiny- in the anime and a couple in the games that Lily and Cael had shown her just to see if she thought they were cool (they were) but since they were so rare she hadn't thought she'd ever see another one after Dustox.

But now apparently Paul's Swablu, Lyric, was a shiny? Cool!

"Get out your pokedex and check the actual colour." Skittles muttered. "I don't believe this guy at all."

"You don't believe any human." Faith pointed out, even as she got the device out.

The little picture on the screen proved it- normal Swablu were blue, and that meant Paul's was a shiny pokemon. Cool.

"We keep on getting off topic." Brendan observed.

"It happens more often than you think." Makit told him, obviously remembering the amount of times that had happened already.

"Since your Swablu-"

"Lyric." Paul and Willow said at the same time.

"Lyric, sorry. Since you used Lyric in Brawly's Gym, you should have won." Brendan said. He noticed Paul's sheepish look. "You didn't win." Wasn't even a question.

"No." Paul muttered. "Though to be fair, Jack did say he could take it. And I'm not really used to using faster pokemon, really, so Lyric was a bit of a challenge to work around. So far, Jack's the only pokemon who I actually know how to use properly in battle."

"Because you've had one before." Faith remembered.

"Yeah."

"Sounds like you're having trouble finding a style to fit your team." Brendan frowned. "Faith, are you having difficulties?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Faith shrugged. "I just sort of . . . battle."

"Right now I'd say you seem to be leaning more for faster pokemon, but you have a Makuhita, so I don't think that's entirely accurate." Brendan said.

"He's not mine, he's just tagging along with us until we get to Mauville city." Faith explained. "Got smuggled from his Trainer."

"That explains why you broke the ship." Brendan nodded. "Anyway, Paul. What's your normal style?"

"Uh . . . slow but sturdy pokemon." Paul frowned, thinking through his team. "I do have a few fast hitters- I have a Weavile and a Ninjask- but I've mostly got sturdy pokemon."

"Powerful, too." Faith cut in.

"Right . . . and so far, you have a Breloom, which is a speed demon and a hard hitter. A Plusle and a Minun, both speedy. A Swablu, which are generally speedy because they're birds anyway. The only that fits your style is your Aron, because it-"

"He."

"-he's a Steel and Rock type and most of those types are slow and sturdy." Brendan said. "Looks like you might need to rethink how you battle with your pokemon, at least for the majority of your team anyway."

"Yay." Paul said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to go back in time and stop myself from saving your pathetic ass from those Aqua morons?" Willow demanded.

Paul bristled, and even if Brendan couldn't understand Willow, he seemed to know enough to try and calm Paul down before something happened.

"Cool it, I'm sure whatever she said she didn't mean it." Brendan soothed.

"I'm sure she didn't." Paul muttered. "Seems like half my team hates me for some reason . . ."

So, Faith had a half-crazy team, and Paul had a team that half-hated him. Brendan had Muddy to make up for both insane and hateful, so he probably had one of the most normal teams ever. Besides Muddy. Obviously.

"Moving on, again, it seems like you both need some sort of style- or at least a concrete one, that is." Brendan mused. "Right now I guess mine is something like earth-shifting or something, since all the pokemon I have right now are half Ground."

"Sounds interesting." Faith commented.

"It is." he agreed. "But I guess since you're not having that many issues, Faith, we need to work on Paul's style a lot more urgently. You're used to sturdy but slow pokemon, but most of your team now are actually fast but fragile- and that includes the Breloom, even if she is a damn good fighter."

"Right." Paul sighed.

"Normally you wouldn't accept help from anyone." Faith said, remembering how he reacted in the anime to people trying to tell him that basically abusing his pokemon wasn't the way he should go about training them.

"Yeah well, normally I'm not in a totally different world and being forced to compete in a waste-of-time contest so I can get to an Island that probably doesn't even _exist_!" he snapped. "And I also normally don't have a Breloom who constantly insults me for no reason!"

There was a very awkward and slightly worried pause. And then Paul deflated a little bit, looking away.

"Sorry." he muttered.

" . . . Maybe I should tone it down a little." Willow said, looking a bit guilty.

"That might be an idea." Skittles nodded.

Brendan looked a bit shocked as well, but he calmed down faster than anyone else did- and suggested something Faith probably should have thought of at some point before.

"Why don't you two have a battle?" Brendan suggested lightly, well as lightly as possible given the outburst.

"Huh?" Paul blinked, looking up at him.

"That could work." Makit observed. "You could battle and figure out a way to work out a new style, and it'll help with your frustration as well."

"It will?" Faith asked this time.

"What'd he say?" Brendan asked.

"We battle and Paul and me get to figure out our styles, and Paul gets to work out some frustration." Faith explained.

"That's basically what I wanted to say- smart Makuhita you got there." Brendan smiled. "Even if he doesn't belong to you."

"Thanks, kid." Makit grinned. He held out a gloved hand and Brendan shook it.

Thank the Stars Faith had a team member who was sane. Well, temporary team member, but whatever. Details.

 **oooo**

Brendan, having been on Dewford for a few days now (though he still hadn't said why exactly), was able to lead the- six?- the six of them to a fairly deserted beach somewhere along the coastline of Dewford. Obviously there were still people there, but not as many- which meant the place was perfect for a battle, or at least a practise battle anyway.

"Alright, how about a full battle?" Brendan suggested, getting into the referee position that Faith had seen in the anime. "Six-on-six, no time limit-"

"I don't have six pokemon." Paul interrupted.

Faith and Brendan stared at him. He shuffled slightly.

"Well it's not my fault . . . I only found out about this 'one pokemon per Route' thing a couple of days ago." he muttered.

"Swablu are found on Route 115." Brendan informed him. "You could have just gone to Route 116."

"Willow decided she hated the place after a Whismur blasted her." Paul explained.

"I don't like Whismur." Willow nodded.

"Too bad, 'cus I've got one." Faith called, smirking.

"Well screw you too, Draco!" the Breloom snapped back.

"Can we get on with this?" Brendan shouted. " . . . Thank you. How many pokemon _do_ you have?"

"Five." was Paul's answer.

"Alright then . . . how does a three-on-three sound?" Brendan checked. The two gave positive answers. "Alright then. No time limit, and I don't want any cheating. Three pokemon only for each side, and once all three for one Trainer have been beaten, the one with pokemon still able to battle will win. Switches are allowed, but no abusing this."

"How do you abuse being able to switch?" Faith scoffed.

"Say you switch to some random pokemon, then three seconds later you switch again, and then again." Brendan told her. "That kind of thing. The pokemon you send in has to at least land a few hits or something before you switch, otherwise we'll have an Endless Battle."

" . . . Fair play."

"Alright, throw your pokeballs at the count of one- two- and three!" Brendan sliced his arm down as if he was conducting a race or something.

Faith threw out her pokeball, and Paul threw his.

"Well, that sucks." Faith muttered.

"Can they even do anything to each other?" Paul asked.

Spyke shrugged, and Paul's Aron- Jack- made a movement that sounded like screeching metal. He was probably shrugging as well.

"Begin!" Brendan snapped out.

"Absorb!" Faith shouted. May as well try something that would drain Jack and heal Spyke.

Spyle shot out the Absorb string, which actually turned out to be a very bad idea when Jack, quicker than she expected him to, clamped his steel jaws down on the string and took the attack without even blinking.

Then he bit down hard and pulled, jerking Spyke through the air. The Absorb string sort of fell down in front of Jack and he bit it in half, which prompted Spyke to quickly retract the rest of the string still intact and get higher in the air to make sure he couldn't get at her.

"Well damn." Faith muttered.

"What now?" Spyke called down. "I can't shoot any Strings at him, and I can't Absorb his strength- he'd just bite the attacks away and drag me down too!"

"I didn't know Aron could learn Bite." Brendan mused.

"It's just biting, not terribly hard to fake." Paul shrugged. "Besides, he's fast for an Aron- which means he can clamp down on anything because no one expects him to move faster than a mile an hour or something."

 _"I take offense to that."_ Jack said, his voice sounding slightly metallic and echoey because of his armour.

"That doesn't really apply to you, so how can you?" Paul asked.

"Hey moron, we're still in a battle!" Faith reminded him. "Gust!"

The attack didn't really do much, but it got Jack and Paul's attention.

"Roar!" Paul called.

"Wait, wha-"

 _ **"RAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOH!"**_

After a few seconds, Faith unclamped her hands from her ears- ow, seriously, why- and glared.

"Excuse me, but I happen to have more sensitive ears than you humans." she snapped.

"It's a legitimate move." Paul shrugged. "I don't see the issue."

Well, at least he didn't look like he wanted to murder the whole damn planet anymore . . . however, the attack also meant the slightly crap matchup was bound to get better, since the move basically sent Spyke back into her ball.

"Skittles, get out there!" Faith called, pointing to the battle.

Skittles failed to get out.

" _Any_ time now." Faith said flatly, looking down at her technically-first pokemon.

"Don't command me." Skittles told her, glaring suspiciously.

"I never do."

"Good."

Skittles dashed out and crouched, getting into a position that Faith had seen on a few cats when they were squaring up for a fight or a hissy-fest.

"Uh . . . she's a Normal type." Paul pointed out, like Faith didn't know what she was doing. "Why are you sending in Skittles?"

"Assist!" Skittles shouted.

 _"But that's a completely unpredictable-"_

Jack was cut off when Skittles Double Kicked him in the face with her tail. Which made no sense, but that was Skitties for you- they were a species, or one of many species, whose moves and the way they worked just didn't really make much sense.

Or Faith had gotten a crazy one (well, crazier) and she was now being treated to a tail of weirdness.

"Okay, so you got lucky once." Paul observed. Faith smirked. It was so much fun shocking people with the so-called 'unpredictablility' of Assist working in Skittles' favour.

Paul quickly called for a Metal Claw, and Jack, again faster than expected (clearly Paul was enjoying this), dashed across the sand with all four of his paws glowing and growing claws for the attack.

Skittles' ball-things on the end of her tail flashed in the light of Assist, and then she spat out an Ember which didn't really do much to Jack even with the Fire weakness. He barrelled through the attack and slashed at Skittles, who was sent bouncing back and only stopped when she dug her tail into the sand and hit a rock or something that stopped her momentum.

"Okay, this is going fucking nowhere." Skittles muttered.

She opened her mouth, and Sang.

When she stopped, about every pokemon within range of the attack was asleep- except the one it had been primarily aimed at.

"What the hell!?" the Skitty hissed.

"Seconded!" Faith exclaimed. "That should have worked! And I should know, I feel kinda drowsy . . ."

"I know." Brendan laughed. "An Aron's steel armour is actually so thick that Sing and other attacks like that don't really penetrate the 'skin', so to speak. They can hear the attack, but the added waves that normally send a pokemon to sleep can't cut through the armour- so Sing doesn't have an effect on him at all."

"Thanks for that, genius." Paul applauded him sarcastically. "Jack, Mud-Slap!"

This was basically hurling sand at Skittles, which she just skipped over effortlessly. Skittles countered with an Assist Ember, and hit the Aron directly and at least did _some_ damage to him. Fucking finally.

"Iron Defence!" Paul called.

"Like hell you do!" Skittles snapped.

She rushed forward and delivered a few Double Slaps that didn't do much to Jack, but it still stopped him from using Iron Denfence by breaking his concentration enough.

Unfortunately this also meant she was in close range.

"Superpower!" Paul ordered.

Even Brendan was surprised.

Jack glowed a strange and powerful-looking orange colour, and then rushed Skittles- who was too confused to do anything but stare- and sent her flying halfway across the beach.

"Right, so apparently your Aron can fake Bite and use Superpower." Brendan nodded. " . . . Okay, even I don't get it- _how_?"

"Egg move, apparently." Paul shrugged. "I'm not complaining, since Assist seems to be working _for_ them instead of _against_."

"It'll never work against us." Faith grinned, as Skittles came back looking like some kind of sand statue.

Skittles shook off the sand and glared at Jack, and her tail-balls flashed.

"Ember Hurricane!" she cried.

Torch promptly sent himself out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Faith exclaimed.

"I want to make sure she does it properly!" Torch insisted. "After all, it was created by yours truly, and only the burning passion of a Fire type can unlock the full potential of Ember Hurricane-"

 _Fwoom._

"-and apparently she can as well." Torch finished lamely. " . . . I may need to rethink this move."

"She does what she wants." Faith agreed.

By now it looked like Jack was having difficulties- finally- standing up. But, annoyingly so, he was still standing. It seemed like he'd managed to avoid the eye of the Ember Hurricane, so only the outer flames hit him. But the attack still did a lot of damage, so that was fine with Faith.

"One more hit should do it!" she called.

"I'm not stupid!" Skittles snapped. "Piss off!"

Faith deadpanned.

Jack reminded them he was still there with a Metal Claw. Skittles hurridly blocked it with what looked like an Arm Thrust with her tail, which made Faith blink. Makit wasn't technically part of the team, so why-

"Assist chooses from the moves of who the user sees as teammates." Makit told her, seeing her confused expression. "Boss has a Delcatty on the team who basically cheats and uses moves from any pokemon within sight."

"Huh. Good to know. We might use that at some point." Faith nodded. "Using another Coordinator's attacks against them would be a funny thing to try out, at least. I'll see if Skittles'll listen for long enough to see if she likes the idea." _She probably will, now that I think about it,_ Faith muttered in her head.

She noticed another flash as Skittles used Assist again, basically spamming the attack (her only attacks were Normal type, what did you expect?). This time it looked like she'd gone for Quick Attack, probably from Tiny.

Obviously the actual attack wouldn't do much for her, but Faith assumed she was just using it to get close enough to hit Jack and make a hit-and-run or something. Focusing, the Draco could just about see Skittles zipping along the sand too quickly for even the surprisingly-quick Aron to dodge.

And then Skittles delivered a Double Kick at the speed of whatever she was going at.

Paul winced as his Steel type was blown backwards, and it was clear that Skittles had finished him off. Yeesh, finally. Brendan said Endless Battles were bad, maybe this was what he meant.

"Okay . . . Lyric!" Paul called.

The golden Swablu flew off his head and onto the sandy battlefield, and chirped happily.

"Hello!" she giggled. "Paul told me about you- you're a powerful Skitty."

"Uh . . . thank you?" Skittles was clearly thrown by the pleasantries in the middle of the battle.

"You're welcome!" Lyric chirped.

Then she burped, and Lyric coughed up a brightly-coloured mist that Faith didn't recognise. Maybe it was some kind of attack. The mist swallowed up the entire battlefield, blocking Faith's view of Skittles, Lyric, Paul and Brendan.

"Peck!" came Paul's voice through the mist.

Since Faith hadn't seen a Swablu before, she didn't know what kind of attacks Lyric could use- but since she was a Flying type, it was safe to assume that Lyric could use Flying attacks like Peck, or maybe even Wing Attack. Unfortunately, not knowing what other attacks Swablu were able to use wasn't really a good thing because Faith couldn't think of any way to counter whatever came at them.

However . . .

If Skittles' random and varied knowledge of human society (and occasionally pokemon) included knowing stuff about pokemon- specifically Swablu- then maybe Skittles could work this battle out on her own.

It was unlikely, but Faith had to hope, right? She needed to have _faith_.

Pun not intended (somewhat).

There was a sound of something smacking against something else, and then a few thuds that signalled Skittles skipping across the sandy ground.

Then a flash of light from some kind of Fire attack, possibly from Skittles, and several more smacks that were possibly some kind of Double Slap- maybe a Fury Attack?- from Lyric.

Faith spotted a sudden green glow, and recognised it as the light from a Safeguard. So, Swablu could learn Safeguard . . . unless Lyric was like Jack, in which case Faith had no clue _what_ to expect in terms of moves. Well, no more than she already knew, but at least she could guess.

However, she did know that a Swablu's evolved form, Altaria (and she only knew this because the anime mentioned Swablu as the pre-evolved form, but she hadn't seen it), was half Dragon. So maybe that meant that Swablu could use Dragon attacks.

She'd have to watch out for those- Dragon attacks were generally OP, or occasionally just plain insane.

There was a massive hurricane of fire, which Faith correctly assumed was Ember Hurricane (hopefully once they figured out Flamethrower or Overheat, they could upgrade the attack- for now it was just a very powerful mock of Flamethrower and Fire Spin), which spiraled into the air- and took Lyric with it. The young Draco could just about see something golden and white, frantically flapping away trying to get out of the Hurricane.

Which was impossible, since the funnel of Fire basically got cut off at the edge. They'd tested it with Tiny's help, and Torch had managed to gain enough control over the attack that he could actually shut off the top part of the Hurricane, making the attack turn into something like a giant swirling balloon thing made purely from flames.

And, obviously, once he'd gotten it down, Skittles had tried it instantly. Fang had decided to name the balloon-version of Ember Hurricane, though no one really knew why- something along the lines of 'Flame Trap'. So, there was the normal Ember Hurricane, and then there was Flame Trap Ember Hurricane.

Luckily her pokemon were smart enough to know which version to use and when, so Faith didn't need to direct them on that and basically give away any tactics.

And the other thing that Flame Trap did, besides trapping Lyric inside a swirling mass of doom, was burn away the misty attack she'd put onto the battlefield at the start of her own debut. Once the mist was gone, Faith could see Skittles with her head tilted up, adding random Embers to the Ember Hurricane, and controlling the movement of it with flicks of her tail, with the three small balls on the end flashing periodically with Assists.

Which was still weird, considering how Torch did it all with his beak, but that was Skittles for you- next thing you know, she was gonna be using some variation of Volt Tackle or something.

"Okay, how is she getting lucky _every time_ she uses that move?" Paul demanded. "As far as I know, Assist just chooses from random pokemon and moves! How come she hasn't gotten something completely stupid?"

"How about you beat us, and I'll tell you?" Faith called.

"Fine!" he snapped back, suddenly looking determined. Maybe he wanted to know in case he got a pokemon that could use Assist, so he could turn the tide or something.

"Hey, quit messing around and finish this off already!" Faith called to Skittles.

"Piss-" Skittles fired an Ember as Lyric tried to escape through a small hole that had formed. "-Piss off!" the Skitty snapped back.

After a few seconds of tormenting the poor little bird, Skittles finally brought down the Trap Hurricane with a slam of her tail. Unfortunately for Lyric, the flames carried her down as well, and she was slammed into the ground and then hit with the Stars-knows how many flames less than a second later.

"Time out, please!" Paul shouted, waving his hands at Brendan, who seemed a bit too focused on the leftover flames scattered around the sand.

"Huh- uh, yeah sure." Brendan nodded absently. "How'd you work that attack out? I mean, is it even an actual attack? It looked like Fire Spin, but . . ."

As Paul ran over to retrieve Lyric from the sand, Faith turned to Brendan. "Torch worked it out. It's called Ember Hurricane- we're hoping to upgrade it when we figure out Flamethrower or something- and it's basically Ember in a Fire Spin style but more powerful. We worked out a trap version of it as well, which was what you just saw there."

"My burning heat knows no limits!" Torch yelled, jumping up and down. "Though she does not claim to have the scorching passion of my own Fires, Skittles has represented the sheer genius and power brought only by Ember Hurricane! To celebrate, I-"

Faith returned him before he could say or do anything else.

"At least he's not an anime nut." Makit observed.

"What do you mean?" Faith glanced down at the Makuhita.

"There's a Slugma on Boss's team- Road- who's basically just like Torch only he blathers about anime as well. Takes inspiration from it too, and . . . terrifyingly enough, it all works." Makit explained. "We're still wondering how or even why."

"Well, I'll be sure to keep Torch the hell away from Road." Faith shuddered, thinking what Torch would do if he got into anime as well. Probably even worse than the Slugma, considering the fact that he wasn't restricted to a slug's pace.

"Willow, get in there!"

Unlike Skittles, Willow wasn't actually that opposed to taking orders. Probably less so now that she knew Paul was sort of going crazy with the insults she gave him half the time, so that would be a disadvantage on her end- because Faith at least knew what she was gonna do somewhat- and an advantage because it allowed Paul to call out things she wouldn't see in the heat of the battle.

Possibly literally, since Skittles looked like she was seriously considering just ending it there and then with Ember Hurricane or something.

"Come back for now!" Faith called, hoping she'd listen. "Let Spyke handle this!"

" . . . Fine." Skittles said.

Wow, okay, she actually listened? This could be the start of-

Skittles stomped past and hissed slightly. Okay, so it was reluctantly. Nevermind then.

"Spyke, use Gust!" Faith ordered, throwing out the first pokemon who'd been in the battle.

Upon entering, Spyke instantly blasted out a Gust which blew back Willow a few feet. It didn't seem to do much though, and Willow simply jumped into the air.

"Mach Punch!" Paul called.

Spyke tried to dodge, but then Willow was suddenly right there and-

 _BOOM._

"Ouch." Makit winced. "Is . . . she gonna be okay?"

Faith wondered if, because Spyke and her brother were the ones to save him from getting thrown off the ferry, he had some kind of special bond with her. Possibly yes, so of course he'd be worried about her.

But after the dust cloud cleared away, it was very clear the Mach Punch had taken her out. Though she had taken a bit of damage earlier- Jack chopping her string in half hadn't exactly done nothing, because it had dragged her through the air and possibly strained something- Faith had actually expected Spyke to last a bit longer.

Mostly because both her types resisted both of Willow's types, but . . . well, if Willow was this strong . . .

Faith returned Spyke and muttered a quick thanks (because at least she knew now how fast the Breloom was) and then readied her last pokemon.

"Tiny, get her!" she shouted.

Upon entering the battle, the Taillow blasted off into the air too fast for even Willow's second Mach Punch to follow. He came back down with another burst of speed and hit her with a slightly overpowered Wing Attack, and shot off again.

"Don't try to chase him, he's too fast!" Paul called.

"Bit stupid, now we know to hit-and-run faster." Faith muttered.

"The idiot isn't psychic, how else is he meant to tell her?" Skittles scoffed. "You'd better let me be the one to beat her."

"But to do that Tiny would have to be beaten." Faith pointed out.

"And? He did some damage- look, she just staggered."

And Willow had. Tiny had blown by in a fake attack, not even touching her, and Willow had tried to attack him but when she'd failed to touch him she'd stumbled- too much.

"Peck!" Faith shouted.

Tiny shot back and spun, making it harder for Willow to aim, and then-

 _Bang._

"Ouch." Makit winced.

"I guess both attacks hit?" Brendan called, looking into the dust cloud. "What'd she even do?"

"I think . . . that was another Mach Punch?" Paul shrugged. "I have no idea."

The dust cleared away with a bit of help from Shake, Brendan's Gligar, and Faith sighed.

"I guess it wasn't a double knockout." she admitted.

Willow was still standing, strangely looking slightly better than before, and Tiny was lying on the ground, obviously beaten.

"No, actually I think that was a Drain Punch!" Brendan exclaimed. "An egg move, I think. You're lucky, Paul. An Aron with Superpower and a Breloom with Drain Punch?"

" . . . Maybe my run of luck isn't bad anymore." Paul said in shock.

"Well, I guess this means we're screwed." Faith sighed. She glanced at Skittles. "Wanna forfeit the battle?"

"No." Skittles said, and ran back out.

Considering how well a Flying type with some good attacks had done against Willow, Faith really didn't think a Normal type could do much better (even if she had access to just about every attack on the entire team plus anyone else's once she told Skittles this).

But she'd managed to beat the last two of Paul's pokemon, so maybe they'd get lucky? Or she'd just do a considerable amount of damage and it'd be a really close match or something.

The two pokemon- the first ones either of the other-worlders had met upon coming to this world- watched each other carefully. Both had long-range attacks and close-range attacks, and both probably had some kind of status attack (Willow had more, mostly because she was part Grass).

But going on type and power alone, Willow was probably going to win, right?

Without any instruction at all, the two pokemon exploded into motion.

Fairly certain neither of them needed any orders from the two Trainers (not like Skittles would listen anyway), Faith decided to sit down and just watch the fireworks. Paul seemed to be more interested in trying to keep track of the two as they traded Mach Punchs/Drain Punchs and Pecks/Embers.

Skittles' entire tail flashed white this time, and she attacked with a slightly OP Wing Attack from a previous Focus Power from about every single pokemon on the team who had the attack. Which . . . was something like half of it. Which made the Wing Attack _really_ powerful.

Willow dodged out of the way, but got clipped on her tail when she accidently overstepped. Skittles took the oppertunity to whack her with a few Double Slaps and Arm Thrusts.

Willow recovered annoyingly quickly, and then started to block and hit back with some hits that looked like Mach Punchs but were glowing green- each time she hit Skittles, she seemed to heal slightly. Drain Punch, probably. Though Skittles really looked like she needed a rest or maybe a coma-induced sleep, she kept going and fired off one or two Embers mixed in with a Gust.

That basically made the heals from Drain Punch a little bit useless, because each time Skittles got hit she just hit back a lot harder.

Skittles went wide, dashing around Willow, and briefly vanished somehow- then reappeared nearly on top of the Breloom's head with a small crack and hit Willow with her tail, which was wrapped in Ember flames.

Willow just barely kept her footing, the mixture of the flames and the force of the actual hit itself almost overbalancing her entirely.

That could be a good move. Maybe . . . Flame Tail? There _was_ an _Aqua_ Tail, so why not?

The two pokemon paused briefly- on the wrong side, Faith saw- and watched one another again.

Faith quickly checked her pokedex after noticing Paul doing the same thing. Both of them had barely any HP on the 'dex left, and it looked like it would only take one hit from either of them to beat the other.

There was a long and still silence, and Faith could have sworn she heard the very breath of both pokemon in the battle. She watched the battle closely. Or, well, the _pause_ in the battle-

"Mach Punch!" Willow snapped out.

"Headbutt!" Skittles cried half a second later.

 _BANG._

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Yes, I'm leaving you all on a cliffy. Mostly because I think this chapter's gone on for long enough, it's probably the longest one so far. And people have reviewed, yay! And the battle, well . . . I can certainly tell I'm getting better at actually doing them, probably because of _Ashes of the Past_ if I'm honest.

Paul: How far into the series is it, by the way?

Renny: Sometime into _Advanced Battle_ , I think. It gets more and more epic-er by the chapter.

Paul: . . . How long until the Sinnoh seasons?

Renny: What, you wanna see how you are in a time jump?

Paul: Well, kinda . . . I wanna see whether or not _this_ author hates me as well.

Renny: I don't hate you.

Paul: *stares*

Renny: . . . Not that much. But I'm sure Saphroneth doesn't hate you.

Paul: Right . . .

Green: He or she is gonna hate you and make you get beaten up by an Aura-powered Ash. And possibly Infernape too, considering how well you treated him.

Paul: *shrinks away in terror*

Renny: Be nice, you little prick. Anyway . . . teams, while I try to calm Paul down.

 **Brendan: Marshtomp- Female, Bold, Muddy - Gligar- Male, Quiet, Shake - Geodude- Male, Docile, Cavern**

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm - (Shiny) Swablu- Female, Jolly, Lyric - Aron- Male, Hasty, Jack**

Renny: Read and review!


	11. Chapter 11- Testing our Chances, Part 1

Renny: I might be putting myself into this with my Omega Ruby team at some point. It took ages, but suddenly my mom gave me a bunch of money and I suddenly had £50 and used about £48 for Omega Ruby, clothes, and a witch's hat. Guess which two I love the most.

Paul: *flatly* The game and the hat.

Renny: Hole in one. Anyway! Disclaimer, and then we'll get on with this so you can all sort-of see the results of the battle last chapter. Which lasted something like over half the chapter.

Green: Right . . . Okay, Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

Whismur- Male, Relaxed, Echo

Makuhita- Male, Hardy, Makit

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

Faith woke up to silence. Which was great, since the last few times she'd been woken up it had been by Skittles getting pissed off and getting Echo to Uproar her into the waking world.

But it also meant that there was no one else in the room. She opened her eyes, and felt a little twinge in her tail. The young Draco quickly rolled over to avoid lying on it any longer and winced as she stretched it out- it sort of ached. No wonder, if she'd been lying on the thing since . . . well, last night? Whatever.

She yawned and rolled over again, facing the wall (and making sure she didn't trap her tail under herself again) and blinking wearily at it. She heard the sound of the door opening and closing loudly, almost like whoever it was wanted to wake her up.

"Wake up."

Ah, there we go.

 _Oh well, better get up before Skittles decides to find Echo,or decides to use Uproar herself,_ Faith sighed.

She got up slowly and stretched her arms and wings out as much as she could, and turned to Skittles.

" . . . Oh." she said, upon seeing that it _wasn't_ Skittles at all. "Mornin', Pinky."

Paul gave her a flat look. "I was hoping you'd forgotten that."

"Kinda hard to when it's sort of right there, y'know?" Faith shrugged. "So, who sent you in? Willow? Skittles? Brendan?"

"Nurse Joy." Paul told her.

That threw her out of the loop slightly.

"Apparently all challengers for Brawly are meant to go to his Gym in an hour or so. Nurse Joy gave us Trainers who were awake the alert." Paul explained, as Faith finally decided to get up and out of the comfortable and warm bed. "Brendan seems to know why, and he refuses to tell me. So don't ask me anything."

"Wasn't gonna, you probably wouldn't answer me anyway." Faith yawned. She looked at him for a second. " . . . Mind turning around? I'm not human, but I'm still a girl and you're still male."

Paul rolled his eyes, but he turned around anyway.

"You know, Brendan doesn't look like a starting Trainer to me." he said a few seconds later.

"Never thought you'd be one to break silence." Faith commented.

"I've gotten used to someone talking, sue me."

"Whatever. What'd you say, again?"

"Brendan doesn't look like a new Trainer." he repeated, somewhat irritated. "I mean, he's taller than both of us-"

" _May's_ taller than both of us." Faith broke in.

"Well, yes, okay." he snapped. "Both of them don't seem like starting Trainers."

"I was under the impression that starting Trainers in the anime- your world, I mean- were all ten." Faith remembered. "You can turn around now."

"They are," Paul said, doing just that. "But why are May and Brendan different? They're probably older than both of us."

"Maybe they are." Faith suggested. "Maybe the starting age in this world is different. Of course, the fact that you're the size of a ten year old yourself doesn't help your case."

"Oh shut up, you're no different, you're the same size as me!" Paul barked, as she clipped her bag around her waist.

"Yeah, and I have the excuse of living on a mountain for my whole life and also not being human. What's yours?" Faith asked him.

Paul fell silent, but he scowled at her nonetheless. She still felt smugly triumphant about it.

They went down to the lobby thingy- Paul still a bit angry, but that was probably because he wasn't a morning person. She'd learned that when they'd gone through Petalburg woods, he'd basically snapped at every living creature within a ten mile radius until the sun was high in the sky. Whatever time that was in human terms, anyway.

"Hey Brendan!" she called when they finally got to the lobby.

"Hello there." the- older?- boy greeted her.

"Question- how old are you?" Faith demanded.

" . . . What?" Brendan blinked. He stared at her for a few seconds, as if trying to work out whether or not the question was a joke.

"This isn't a joke." Faith told him. "Also, what's the normal starting age for Trainers here?"

"I- . . . uh . . . My age is the normal age." Brendan explained, still startled. "That'd be . . . uh- fourteen. I'm fourteen, the starting age is fourteen."

"There, see?" Faith said to Paul.

"Yeah yeah . . ."

"What is this about?" Brendan asked.

"He wanted to know why you didn't look ten." Faith told him. "That's the normal starting age for Trainers in his world."

"Huh. I guess that explains why someone as young as you is a Trainer." Brendan raised an eyebrow.

"How old do you think I am?" Paul asked cautiously.

"Well, ten?" Brendan sounded questioning now. "I assume Faith is the same?"

"I'm twelve winters." Faith told him, not that bothered that he thought she was younger.

Paul, however, didn't seem to be as calm as she felt. Probably the morning thing.

"I'm thirteen." he deadpanned, narrowing his eyes almost dangerously.

" . . . Ah. Sorry." Brendan nodded.

"Excuse me?" Nurse Joy called them over. "You three had better get going to the Gym, the other Trainers have already left."

" . . . Damn, I totally forgot that." Faith muttered.

"Of course you did," Skittles said. "You're you."

Faith glared at her, and noticed she was riding on top of the mushroom-hat thing that belonged to Willow. Lyric flew over and perched on Paul's head, and the image of a little bird on a pink-haired boy brightened Faith's . . . unreasonably-early day. Well at least nothing weird was gonna happen.

Aaaand she'd just jinxed it. Oh well.

 **oooo**

"Statistically speaking, Willow and Skittles shouldn't be on the same power level." Brendan said as they walked across the town. "Willow has the advantage by typing alone, and if you add in the fact that she's fully evolved, she'd have the power advantage as well. Yet somehow Skittles managed to match her blow-for-blow, even though she's at a massive disadvantage."

"I was not!" Skittles snapped, now settled (somewhat) on Faith's head. Her claws dug in, but Faith just ignored them like she normally did. "In case you hadn't noticed, Assist _works_ for me!"

"Yeah, why is that?" Paul asked. "You said you'd tell me if we beat you, but it was basically a tie, so . . . spill."

"Just because they knocked each other out doesn't mean I have to tell you how Assist works for us." Faith scoffed.

" . . . Devon needs to hurry up with those translators." Brendan muttered, not for the first time since the battle.

"I'll keep going at this until you tell me," Paul warned, as they came up to the Gym. "I swear I will."

"Stalker much?" Willow asked flatly.

"Shut up, it might be useful to know." Paul defended himself.

"Okay, let's get inside before we have another repeat of yesterday." Brendan quickly called.

And so they did. But when they actually got inside, they found that basically every single Trainer on Dewford plus a bunch extra had turned up for whatever it was that Brawly was gonna do- and what Brendan knew he was gonna do. So, a lot of people wanted to find out what was going on. Or at least a lot of Trainers did.

"Yo, Trainers from all over!" someone shouted over the noise.

Everyone went quiet, though Faith's ears picked up a couple of people muttering "How is this from all over?" to their neighbours.

"Thanks for comin', you're all tubular for takin' time outta your busy Badge-gettin' schedules to come here for me!" the person carried on.

Faith couldn't see over the heads of taller people (for once she slightly resented being small) and it looked like Paul had already given up and was using Lyric's ability to fly up to the wooden thingys holding the roof up to see who was talking.

The shiny Swablu flew back down and whispered something to Paul, who nodded and glanced over at Faith.

"Brawly." he explained. "Well, at least who she describes sounds like him. He doesn't sound the same as the one from my world."

"I'll bet he doesn't." Faith muttered.

She'd seen a couple of the Hoenn Gym Badge fights, namely Roxanne's and Winona's. So she really didn't know what Brawly looked like, or what he sounded like, so she was gonna have to rely on Paul for information on this bit.

Damn.

"Now, I know you're all wonderin' what's happin' with the challenges- and those of you who battled me an' my crew before three days ago know what's happenin', so no spoilers!" A few people laughed, and Brawly paused before carrying on.

"He smiled." Lyric reported happily. Seemed she was taking her job as the 'report bird' seriously.

"As the local Trainer dudes all know, once a month we Dewford dudes and dudettes have an epic competition of power, knowledge and strategy!" Brawly called. "Locally it's called the Chance Tester, but the official name is the Change Tournament!"

Several people cheered.

"Now, you dudes all know that I normally participate too." Brawly went on after the cheers had died down. "But this time the mayor wants somethin' different! The normal rules still apply, obviously, and for those of you dudes and dudettes who don't have a clue what I'm goin' on about, I'll explain those rules! This is also for those of you who have crap memories."

That got a few laughs.

"He can certainly make a speech." Brendan observed, smiling.

"He can?" Paul sounded surprised.

"Sounds like he's just chatting." Faith agreed.

"That's why he's so good. It's because, unlike in a normal speech, he's pretty informal and makes people laugh and all that." Brendan explained. "That's why, even if he's . . . slightly lazy as a Gym leader, basically everyone loves him anyway. Because he doesn't act like the mayor, being all formal while giving a speech- he actually makes you _remember_ the speech."

Faith was about to ask another question, but Brawly interrupted and she had to listen- because this _did_ sound interesting.

"First rule- no killin' another Trainers 'mons!" Brawly called. "Legal reasons. Second rule, Slots are all done in Double style!"

"He means a Double Battle." Brendan translated, once he saw Faith, Paul and the pokemon's confused expressions.

"Third, and this is the most important one . . . you dudes are only allowed Rentals!" Brawly shouted. "Ain't that epic, huh? You could get anythin' from a Salamence-"

Faith noticed Paul tense slightly, but said nothing in case she set him off.

"-or a little Mantyke!" Brawly finished. "An' of course, you get two of the dudes, so it's even more fun. Two Rentals, Double style, remember all this now you crazy-forgetful Trainers out there?"

"Thanks!" someone shouted, somewhat sarcastically.

"No prob, dude!" Brawly called back, to general laughter. "Movin' on! The Top Eight Battle rules also apply. For those awesome enough to make it to the Top Eight Battle slots, you get to add in one of your own pokemon. And the other rule's still there too- you win in the Top Eight Battle rounds, even just once, you get to keep one of the two Rentals. You win the entire thing, you get to keep both your Rentals! As usual the entire thing is a Knockout, to get you epic Trainers prepped up for the League if you make it. Now this is where that tubular little twist comes in, dudes and dudettes."

"We get to keep them if we get to Top Eight?" Paul asked, looking shocked. "Are they even allowed to do that?"

"Yeah, they do it all the time. And besides, you have to give in a deposit for the entry fee anyway, so they can easily get some other pokemon." Brendan told him. "And another thing about the Top rounds- even if you get beaten straight away in them, you still get to keep one of your Rentals."

"So if I got into the Top Eight Battle rounds and lost in my first battle, I'd still keep one Rental?" Faith asked, and got a nod in return. "Sweet!"

"I won't be takin' part this month." Brawly waited for the many groans of disappointment to die down. "Instead, I'll be a kind of last test! The lucky dude or dudette who wins the entire thing gets to challenge me without having to go through the preliminary Trainer match! And even if you lose to me, you still get the Badge. Don't think that means you can be sloppy, though! Legally I can still not give the Badge to you, but you tubular Trainers know how to have a good time, so _let's get Testin' our Chances_!"

Everyone cheered this time.

 **oooo**

"I'm so glad we had our battle yesterday and not today." Paul said, looking around the beach that they had used for their battle before.

Yesterday it had been only lightly populated- but now, with the Chance Tester going on, virtually every single person from the town had come to watch. The Stars knew how many Trainer had come to actually participate in the tournament as well, but Faith knew that she, Brendan and Paul were doing it.

Brendan, because he'd been told by Brawly beforehand about the Tester and was interested in the tournament itself. Paul, because he might get another chance to battle and sort-of win against Brawly. And Faith, mostly because it was fun and she'd like to get all the way to the Top Eight Battle round just to see if she could get a new teammate.

The mayor filled them all in on the rules- very boringly, and Faith was suddenly so glad that Brawly's pre-Tester speech had been so memorable- and did the customary 'thank you for being here yadda yadda yadda' thing, and then he announced the start of the tournament.

Brendan led the two younger Trainers (and their pokemon and Makit) over to the Battle Board, which would tell all the Trainers who would be facing who in which slot.

Because of the Top Eight Battle rounds, there were eight slots- A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. The three of them had been, thankfully, put into different slots. Faith was only glad because she'd rather have a three-on-three with one of them (or possibly both depending on who won and who didn't) rather than a two-on-two.

Faith was in C, Paul was in F and Brendan was in H. Sweet, that meant they could see some of the other slots battling first.

As far as Faith could tell, and from what Brendan told her, there were normally over fifty Trainers who participated each month, including Brawly as it seemed. There was something like eight Trainers in each slot, so Faith would need to win . . . uh . . . two, three? Three battles to get into the Top Eight Battle rounds.

Not too many, but . . . well, she would say her team could handle it, but she was getting Rentals- so she wouldn't be able to judge how good they were straight away. Thankfully the pokedex let her see some of the things she might need to know, but not everyone could be judged by a red device.

"Come on, we'd better go and get our Rentals." Brendan said, gesturing to a table where Nurse Joy was giving the Trainers taking part their two Rentals.

"If I get something weak or stupid, I'll consider dropping out." Paul muttered.

Faith quickly checked that no one was watching them closely enough to question anything, and then whacked Paul with her tail.

"Ow!" he cried, grabbing his head. "What was that for?"

"You know damn well what, and I'm glad she did- otherwise I would've Mach Punched you instead!" Willow snapped. "Did that Ash person teach you _nothing_ , or are you just stupid?"

Paul looked like he was going to say something, but he saw the looks he was getting- from a Draco who broke a ship, a Skitty who could probably break his bones, and a Breloom who only needed an _excuse_ to break his bones- and he shut up.

"Alright, I got the Rentals!" Brendan called, unknowingly- and thankfully- breaking the tension between the small group.

Faith took a random two and watched cautiously as Paul carefully took another two, leaving Brendan with whatever was in the last two.

"We'll be able to meet whatever pokemon we have during the intermission in the Slot A rounds." Brendan said. "Unlucky for anyone in Slot A since all eight are battling in this half."

Deciding that Willow- and Lyric, by extension- could keep Paul in line (well, hopefully anyway) Faith went over to the dividers and leaned on one while she watched the four battles taking place in the Slot A round.

There were a few she was watching out for- the ones who all won pretty easily, because she might end up facing one of them in the Top Eights if she got into them. One girl had a Tropius and a Sableye, and one man had an Electrike and an Onix.

During the intermission Faith found a spot on the beach with few people around. She let out the two Rentals she had.

"Didn't see this coming." Skittles muttered.

"Hello, temporary Trainer." one of the pokemon said. He waved a fin at her and then the two pokemon with her, and his golden head-fin sort of waved in the gentle breeze.

The second pokemon only bowed her blue and black head, putting her two paws together in some kind of respectful bow.

"I really hope you don't see me as useless like my last temporary Trainer." the first pokemon commented.

"Oh- I don't. I actually happen to like your species." Faith grinned. She glanced at the second pokemon. "I thought _your_ species was native to Sinnoh?"

"My species may originate from Sinnoh, but we can be born in any region." the second pokemon said calmly. "As can any living creature- though some stay exclusive to their origins, purely because no other place can hold them."

"Cool."

 **oooo**

The rest of the battles after the intermission- four Trainers, and then finally just two- were relatively interesting. Since they'd all won previously, the battles had gotten a bit harder for either Trainer battling to actually win, and when it came down to just two (the girl with the Tropius and Sableye, and the guy with the Electrike and Onix) the battle had been virtually evenly-matched as far as Faith could tell.

There was a ten-minute break after the Electrike beat the Sableye and gained victory for its temporary Trainer, and the Slot B rounds started up. The only Trainer of interest in those battles was actually a woman with a Persian and a Flareon, and she won the entire slot with ease.

Then it was Faith's turn.

She won her first battle pretty easily- a Force Palm and a Flail was all it took really- and felt a little bit disappointed. During the intermission she found Brendan, who was standing next to Paul, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"What'd he do this time?" Faith sighed.

" _Nothing_!" Paul burst out. "Why does everyone keep getting on my-"

"Makit wrote down why Willow and Skittles were glaring at him." Brendan said. "Frankly it's a wonder he didn't get arrested in his world."

"Well, he's either lucky or he was being watched." Faith shrugged.

"I'm the subject of this conversation, don't I get a say in this?" Paul demanded savagely.

"No." Brendan and Faith told him.

"You don't say anything until you say sorry." Willow added.

"Ugh."

"So, have you seen your pokemon yet?" Faith asked, changing the subject before Willow decided she wanted to Punch Paul after all.

"I have, but Paul hasn't, mostly because we won't let him." Brendan nodded. "You know, in case he actually does try to drop out. At least this way he won't be able to get out of the tournament without battling, and apparently you're not allowed to drop out once you battle in the Chance Tester, even just the one time."

"Best way of keeping him in check." Faith nodded. "What did you get?"

"Azurill and Gulpin." he told her.

Faith wasn't sure if they were a good combination or not, but whatever- Brendan didn't seem sour at all, in fact he looked pretty damn happy about getting the two Rentals.

The intermission was soon over, and Faith's next battle was easily. The last one, which was sort of meant to be the hardest as far as she could tell, was against some guy with a Milotic and a Liepard. Pretty good team, but as far as Faith could tell, neither pokemon could work together at all. Mostly because Liepard kept trying to eat Milotic, which gave Faith's Rentals the chances needed to hit-and-run.

"Thunder Punch!" Faith shouted.

 _Crackle-BANG!_

The Milotic was out. And then suddenly it got a bit harder.

"YOU TOOK MY _FOOOOOOOOOD_!"

Mostly because of that.

The Liepard screeched, and then rushed forwards with shadows gathering on his claws and tail. Which, with his fur colour and the look in his eyes as he charged, was absolutely terrifying.

"Pick him up and dodge!" Faith ordered. Riolu nodded and quickly snatched up Magikarp, and then the two of them were on the other side of the battlefield.

The attack smashed a pit into where her two pokemon had been.

"Fling, and Tackle!" Faith called.

The force of the throw meant the Tackle was a bit more like a Take Down without the recoil, and the Liepard was knocked out before he even hit the dirt.

"And the winner of the second Slot C round is Faith!" the announcer called through his . . . uh . . . micro-thingy.

"Nice work with that combo at the end." Brendan complimented when she came up for a quick break before her next battle. "Contests working out well, I take it?"

"We haven't even been in one yet, hold up." Faith grinned nonetheless.

"Can I at least check out the competition for my-"

"Shut up Paul."

And any other time she would have felt a little bit guilty at just putting him down like that, especially after his outburst from yesterday, but he was acting like a complete dick right now, so screw him. Lyric seemed like the only living being who wasn't giving him a hard time, given how she was still perched happily on his- pfff- _pink hair_.

The next two Slots went by without much interest- though Paul muttered about how they all knew what pokemon they had, but he hadn't got the first clue what his were (Willow hit him 'gently' with her four-balled tail)- and soon enough it was Paul's Slot.

As the Slot F Trainers went over to the waiting area that had been set up near the edge of the battle field, Faith stopped Paul before he went as well.

"Don't lose," she ordered. "Got it? Don't throw the match if you get something you don't like."

"Pretend you're fighting for something you really want. Or need." Brendan added.

Paul stared at them for a few seconds, and for a second Faith could have sworn she saw something like shame or sadness in his eyes- why?- but it was gone so quickly she must have been imagining it. He nodded slightly and went over to the waiting area.

"He wishes he could be different, but as humans say, 'old habits die hard'." Riolu commented.

"I've never heard that saying." Faith told her.

"'Old habits die hard' basically means it's hard to stop doing something you've done for a long time, like say if you had to get up early for school, and then you don't go to school anymore- you still get up early because of a habit." Brendan explained.

"Oh, well that makes-" Faith paused. " . . . How did you understand her?"

"My species use an ability known as Aura to translate our voices." Riolu explained. "Others can as well, with training, however my species and evolved forms are the most common."

"Which explains why he didn't freak." Skittles muttered.

"I wanna do that." Willow gasped, looking and sounding incredibly in awe of the smaller blue and black pokemon. "Teach me."

"I shall give you basic Aura training during the break between the slot rounds and Top Ten Battle rounds." Faith's second Rental agreed.

"I know my species can't learn much of anything, but can you give me a bit of training too?" Magikarp asked. "It'd be helpful if I ever evolve."

"Certainly."

Faith almost broke in, about to say " _When_ you evolve, you mean!", but the Slot round started and she noticed that Paul was up first.

His opponent was someone she'd seen around town- a large man who seemed a bit attached to the chain around his neck. Faith had seen him a couple of times during the Tester, and he'd had a Mightyena and a Gastly with him. She assumed those were his Rentals.

Paul glanced down at his two pokeballs uncertainly for a second, and then he threw them out into the battlefield.

Faith wasn't sure if his luck had run out sometime during the night.

The first Rental he had was a Vulpix, that was perfectly fine. Lily had used a Vulpix once when she'd been really into her Johto games (she'd quickly moved onto the Unova ones when she got one) and it had been a miniture powerhouse- and from the looks of it, this one was a male, and for some reason he had strange markings on his fur, swirling around like tattoos or something.

His second Rental was a Chimchar.

" . . . Now I feel really bad for him." Faith said.

"Yeesh." Brendan winced. "Talk rubbing salt into the wound . . ."

On the battlefield, Paul had frozen nearly entirely- if it weren't for his slightly panicked-looking shaking, Faith and anyone else watching would have assumed he was a statue or something.

People were starting to whisper, wondering why he was shaking to begin with, and his opponent looked slightly concerned.

"Uh, kid, are you alright?" the announcer asked.

It took a few seconds for Paul to answer, mostly because the Chimchar- a female (Faith, by now, could tell what to look for in a female or male pokemon)- was watching him as well. The tattoo'd Vulpix wasn't affecting him as much, but he was still looking.

"Y-yeah, sorry, just . . . nevermind." Paul called back, his voice slightly shaky. If anyone noticed, they said nothing, probably to spare him the embarrassment.

He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes and nodded as calmly as he could given the situation.

"Sorry about that," he said. He was trying his best not to notice how Chimchar was looking at him worriedly. "I-I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Alright, if you're sure . . . battle begin!" the announcer shouted.

"I've decided I won't give him too much shit for being a dick." Skittles said.

"Ditto." Willow muttered. "I'm still calling him Paulie until we enter a contest, though."

"Fair enough."

The battle began as they were talking, and Faith watched as Paul tried to get past the memories or whatever it was that had affected him so badly. Both pokemon were Fire types, so he could order an attack that they both had and possibly pretend he'd just issued the order to Vulpix and not both of them.

But Faith could tell that, when he had to give individual orders, he didn't do as well. Mostly because he kept fumbling over Chimchar's attacks when he had to adress her.

But somehow he won, and the second he was allowed off the battlefield, he returned both Rentals and ran off towards the cliffs nearby. Faith exchanged a glance with Brendan and ran after him with the older boy on her heels, the pokemon following as quick as they could (Magikarp had to be carried by Riolu).

"He couldn't have gotten that far," Brendan murmured. "He's fast, but we should be able to catch up with him somewhere around here."

"Would it be safe for me to search from the sky?" Faith asked.

Brendan looked back at the crowd. A few of them were looking over, probably wondering why Paul had run off and why they were going after him. He shook his head, turning back to Faith.

"Not with so many people watching. One or two, sure, no one would believe them- but with that many people they're more likely to be believed that they saw a flying Dragon girl." Brendan told her. "Lyric, search as quickly as you can and-"

"If I may?" Riolu spoke up.

"Hm?"

"I should be able to recognise his Aura enough by now, so perhaps I could try an Aura scan of the area?" Riolu asked.

"How far's the radius?" Brendan checked. Faith had no idea what a 'radius' was.

"About ten or so miles."

"Then go ahead, please."

They stopped running and Riolu passed Magikarp carefully to Willow, who stepped back and watched as the little blue pokemon closed her eyes and put her paws together. A blue light shone from within, and the black bangs of fur on either side of her face twitched- this went on for a couple of seconds, and then she opened her eyes (which were a soft, glowing blue) and looked over at a weird formation of rocks somewhere in front of them.

"He is there." she said.

"Do you know what he's doing?" Faith asked.

"My scans aren't as advanced as my evolved forms', however . . . his highly unstable emotions point mostly to crying or something along those lines." Riolu frowned, worried. "It may be wise to approach him with caution." She looked up at Skittles and Willow. "No insults."

"Wouldn't dream of it, not if the kid's crying." Willow said quietly.

"I already said I wouldn't treat him as bad." Skittles muttered.

"You should not treat him badly to begin with. His mental and emotional state is highly unstable as it is."

And ouch, wasn't that a kick in the tail for them all.

Riolu led them to a small opening in the weird rock formation, and she gestured for the pokemon to stay back.

"Go on, he will need human help, not pokemon help." she informed them.

Faith didn't even bother to point out that she wasn't human.

Brendan led the way in, and he made a small gesture that Faith assumed was meant to tell her to be . . . quiet, presumably? She didn't know, sign language wasn't her thing.

Paul was sitting with his legs drawn up to his chest, his face hidden from them. He'd wrapped his arms around his knees, but Faith could still see him shaking- so, Riolu was right. He was crying. The two pokeballs containing his two Rentals were on a small rock next to him.

" . . . Paul?" Brendan called quietly.

The boy tensed, but he didn't do much else.

"This might sound stupid, but are you okay?"

He was right, it did sound stupid.

" . . . No." Paul whispered. His breath caught, and he tightened his grip on his knees with shaking hands.

Brendan sat down and glanced at Faith, who actually managed to interpret the look correctly. She settled down on Paul's other side, next to the rock with the two pokeballs on it.

"Take your time." she told him. "We're not going anywhere."

"What about t-the Tester thing?" Paul asked quietly.

"Who gives a crap, you're more important." Faith said.

And, she realised, it was true- the Tester was fun, sure, but the well-being of her (and this surprised her) friend was much more important than something she could probably do every single day if she wanted. Besides, she was mostly in it just to see if she could keep one of her Rentals. Not really a good reason, to be honest.

So this was more important.

"She's right, you know." Brendan explained. "This stupid Tournament doesn't mean much if you're not really feeling too well. Your well-being is more important to us than the Chance Tester."

Paul shifted, and he peered over his arms at Brendan, and then Faith.

" . . . You don't mean that." he murmured.

"No, really, I literally just realised that you're more important. Even if you are a bit of a dick." Faith told him.

He jerked slightly, and it took Faith a couple of seconds to realise he'd laughed.

"I also just realised that I consider you an actual friend." Faith went on. Paul jerked his head up and he stared at her with wide eyes. "No, reallly, I'm not shitting you."

" . . . I can't even remember the last person who considered me a friend." Paul said faintly.

"Well, you've got two now- I'll ask May when I see her next, and she'll say the same thing, so you've got three. I'm pretty sure your pokemon care too, they just show it differently." Brendan insisted.

"So there." Faith felt like adding.

" . . . O-oh."

"Now, and I'm sorry about changing the topic so quickly, but . . ." Brendan trailed off and Paul looked up at him. " . . . Would you want to talk about it? About . . . why you ran off like that?"

Paul just watched him for a while, and then he looked at the two pokeballs on the rock- specifically, the one probably containing Chimchar.

"Chimchar." was all he said.

"Yeah, I . . . Makit told me." Brendan said hesitantly. "But- uh, no offence- why would this affect you so much?"

"I . . . I just panicked." Paul sighed. "I don't know what happened- it was sort of like with the flying thing . . ."

Faith refrained from asking about his sudden fear of flying- and, perhaps, heights themselves.

"And I couldn't stop running away. I kept looking at that Chimchar and remembering- ah . . . m-my old Chimchar." Paul whispered. "A-and his face when I let him go. It didn't make much difference to me before, and it certainly didn't even matter. But now . . . and seeing that Chimchar . . . I panicked. I got scared, I thought it was gonna happen all over again and . . ."

It might not have made sense to most people, but Faith wasn't most people and therefore it made sense to her. Paul wasn't cold-hearted anymore. He could understand pokemon, and he was actually (though he most likely wouldn't admit this unless she asked him right now) emotionally connected with them, or whatever the human term was.

Before, he obviously didn't see pokemon as . . . living beings, as much as it hurt Faith to say. He couldn't understand them, and he'd only really seen them as a way to get what he wanted or needed- basically, to beat Brandon and prove that he could do what Reggie couldn't (that was Cael and Thorn's theory, Lily's was that he was a sociopath and just didn't give a shit about others) and he'd gotten a little bit too carried away.

But since he could actually hear what they were saying now, he couldn't ignore the fact that pokemon were actually individuals, and that they were actually alive. That most likely meant that he was seeing everything he did before coming to this world as wrong, but Faith had no way of knowing how he actually felt about that- until now, at least.

Seeing the Rental Chimchar reminded him of what he'd done to Ash's Infernape when he was a Chimchar. He'd abandoned Chimchar and would have left the little Fire type for dead had Ash not taken him in.

And Paul, obviously not used to all of this, just completely panicked and couldn't hide it- so he ran.

"But you need to remember that this Chimchar isn't the one you let go." Brendan told him gently. 'Let go' was the most gentle way of saying 'abandoned and left to die' Faith had ever heard. "She doesn't have the same connection to you that the other one had- or has?"

" . . . Had." Paul admitted quietly. "He hates me."

Hate was still some kind of connection, but as far as Faith knew, Infernape only wanted to prove himself to Paul. And he had. But Paul could have misinterpreted that as hate.

And he still was.

"He most likely doesn't," Brendan told him. "You just _think_ he hates you. This Chimchar has nothing to do with him at all, she just happens to be the same species. But I can see you won't be able to get over this unless you face the issue directly."

Paul froze and he stared at Brendan.

"Y-you don't mean-" he broke off.

"Send her out." Brendan said.

"N-no!" Paul cried. "That'll just- I can't. I can't."

"You don't want to panic every single time you battle with her, right?" Brendan asked.

" . . . Not really."

"Go on then."

Paul just looked at him for a few seconds, and then he slowly nodded. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then glanced at Faith- who smiled encouragingly.

Then he reached towards the pokeball.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: I'm so sorry this took so long to make! Like I've told a lot of people, I got distracted by the Avengers for a month and a half. The first AN was basically written in . . . either October and November, I'm not actually sure.

Paul: It's like freaking January right now! You left this for two months?

Renny: *winces* Yup. Again, sorry. But, to make it up to everyone, I'm splitting this chapter in half! Originally the Chance Tester was gonna one whole chapter, but then I realised it was getting kind of unreasonably long. So, I'll follow in the footsteps of any good writer, and I'll split it up.

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm - (Shiny) Swablu- Female, Jolly, Lyric - Aron- Male, Hasty, Jack**

 **Brendan: Marshtomp- Female, Bold, Muddy - Gligar- Male, Quiet, Shake - Geodude- Male, Docile, Cavern**

Paul: Well, at least there's gonna be two chapters for these people to enjoy.

Renny: Yep. Anyway, read and review- also, judging by how long the split is . . . this may actually end up panning into half of a third chapter at least. Dear god I have no idea what I'm doing anymore! Bye! *runs from the flamethrowers*


	12. Chapter 12- Testing our Chances, Part 2

Renny: So, going by what I said last time . . . here's the second half of the chapter! It had like, nearly 70 KB (which I think might be a lot of KB, though I dunno what KB actually is) so this is essentially the rest of the one I did previously.

Paul: Yeah, some people're just gonna think you've just written one chapter and said it's half of one whole.

Renny: They can think that all they want, I know what I did and that's that. Disclaimer!

Paul: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

 **OOOOOO**

 **Team- Limit 9**

Skitty- Female, Quirky, Skittles

Combusken- Male, Naughty, Torch

Poochyena- Male, Rash, Fang

Wingull- Male, Lonely, Glider

Zigzagoon- Female, Naughty, Bristle

Beautifly- Female, Bold, Spyke

Taillow- Male, Careful, Tiny

Whismur- Male, Relaxed, Echo

Makuhita- Male, Hardy, Makit

 **On call**

Currently none

 **oooo**

When they got back, a few people spared them a curious glance. But upon seeing the little Chimchar perched calmly on a slightly-shaky Paul's shoulder, they spared him the staring and looked back at the battle that was taking place. Currently it was still on Paul's Slot, thank the Stars- it was about halfway through the intermission right now.

"I guess one of the battles took a really long time," Brendan commented. "We were gone for nearly half an hour."

"Good news is he isn't terrified of me." Chimchar mused. Then she noticed the small flinch Paul made and corrected herself. "Kind of."

"Hey, remember what we talked about." Brendan reminded him.

" . . . She's not Infernape." Paul muttered.

"Good."

"You should probably get going, your battle's up first." Brendan said to Paul, gesturing to the Board. "And try not to panic. If you can't give her an order, she'll make her own decisions- just work around her moves with Vulpix, got it?"

Faith had explained to Chimchar, when they'd been walking back, about the plan. Like Brendan said, if Paul couldn't give her an order, then Chimchar would be allowed to make her own decisions during the battle, and Paul would try his best to work with her by commanding the Vulpix until he was fine.

Brendan had also suggested that, like Willow and Lyric, Chimchar should stay out of her ball until Paul was over the . . . was trauma the right word? Whatever.

And if Paul got into the Top rounds, well . . . Faith sort of hoped he'd choose to keep Chimchar, unless he won the entire thing.

Paul nodded and glanced at Chimchar, who gave him an easy smile. That seemed to calm him down a little (if someone hated you, the only way they'd smile at you was sadistically- Cael had taught her that) and he walked off to the battlefield.

" . . . I really hope he does better this time." Brendan remarked.

"Same." Faith nodded.

"If he does do better I'll call him an idiot and then smother him with my tail- I mean hug him with my tail." Skittles corrected herself when Faith looked at her.

"And calling him an idiot?" she asked.

" . . . Still doing it, it's technically true." Skittles shrugged.

Faith rolled her eyes.

The intermission was over now, and Paul and his new opponent- a woman who Faith thought had a Haunter and a Mawile- stepped onto both ends of the field.

The announcer glanced at Paul, frowning for a second, but he quickly announced the battle's beginning nonetheless. The woman sent out her pokemon (yep, Haunter and Mawile) and Paul threw out the pokeball containing the tattoo'd Vulpix. Chimchar jumped onto the battlefield a second later.

There was a frozen moment, in which the woman looked suspiciously at Paul. Or was she sizing him up? Some people might be cruel enough to try and take advantage of the fragility of others, and if the cow thought she could take advantage of Paul . . .

She was in for a fucking surprise.

"Ember and Fire Spin!" Paul snapped out immidiately.

The woman looked shocked, which at least proved what Faith had thought originally- she'd wanted to take advantage of his 'fragility'. Hah. Nope.

Chimchar fired off at the Mawile and Vulpix shot off a strangely purple-red mixture of swirling flames.

"Why is Vulpix's Fire Spin that weirdly purply colour?" Faith asked Brendan.

"Vulpixes have several sub-types," Brendan explained. "Two of which are Psychic and Ghost. I think Dad said that the purple and red flames are essentially a reflection of those two types, the red representing their primary type and the purple representing the Psychic and Ghost sub-types."

"Sub-types?" Willow asked.

"He means the types that don't get recorded because they're too small to bother with, like how I've got Ice potential but it doesn't get recorded." Skittles said.

"Huh. Does that mean I have Electric, Fire and Ice sub-types, because I think I can learn the Elemental Punches. Or just one of them."

Skittles shrugged, so Faith relayed what Willow had said to Brendan in case he had an answer for her.

"Sometimes a pokemon can learn moves that they don't have sub-types for, so you might not have any of those sub-types." he said. "Though research does indicate that not all pokemon have the same sub-types, so for all we know you could have Dragon potential, and another Breloom might have Water potential."

"Sweet, now I wanna learn a Dragon move." Willow grinned.

While they'd been talking, the woman had tried and failed to counter the Fire attacks with what Faith assumed was Iron Head from the Mawile, and some sort of Punch from the Haunter. The purple Fire Spin cancelled both out by pushing them away and fizzling out the attacks, and then the Ember hit both of them.

The Mawile came off worse, but the Haunter looked almost fine- until Faith noticed that its . . . uh, gas? It's gas was slightly blacker on one side. It had been burnt.

"He's doing much better now," Brendan smiled.

"I'll say." Makit nodded. "He said he hardly knows how to use faster pokemon, but I think he's doing fairly well here. Maybe it's because . . . he's had a Chimchar before."

It was a possibility, but Faith didn't really want to assume that Paul was only doing well because of that. Her own team was mostly speedy, but she knew she wouldn't really mind if she caught something that was generally slow- like, maybe a Geodude. Lily didn't like to use them because she didn't really like Rock types, and Cael didn't like them because they were 'chunky'.

But Thorn had said that they were basically walls (in other words they could take hits) and had shown Faith his Golem on his Platinum game, which could take a full-powered critical Surf to the face and still be able to fight. It was a slow pokemon, but it made up for the lack of speed with a hell of a lot of Rock/Ground power and the fact that you could send it out against virtually anything and it wouldn't even get scratched that badly.

Maybe she could go to Granite cave and find one.

"Scratch!" Paul called.

And we're getting off track, focus on the battle.

"Why did he do that?" Skittles cried. "Is he retarded or something?"

"No, I think he might be trying to trick his opponent." Brendan smirked.

Brendan was right- Faith could just about see Paul making some strange gestures with his hand to the Vulpix, who was trying and succeeding at looking like he wasn't paying any attention. No one else seemed to notice, least of all the woman, who was too busy looking like she'd rather be facing someone with brains.

She needed to look in front of herself instead of ahead.

Chimchar charged in with her claws- nails?- glowing for a Scratch, and then, just as the two opposing pokemon were about to attack her, Vulpix dashed over Chimchar (who dropped away with a smirk) and shot a stream of Embers at the both of them.

They went down like rocks.

The woman gaped for a moment or two, and then sullenly returned her two Rentals. She looked grumpy, but she walked off without saying a word to Paul, and Chimchar and Vulpix ran back over to the boy.

He stumbled a little bit as both jumped at him and climbed up onto his shoulders, but Paul managed to bear the weight of both Fire types.

"Good job, Paul." Brendan said, once he was back.

"Thanks." Paul smiled slightly.

"And he didn't panic even once!" Chimchar grinned. "Now all we need to do is win the Slot and we're done. I keep having moron Trainers who can't even get past the first battle in their Slots, nevermind the damn Top Eight rounds."

"That must suck ass." Skittles observed.

"It does."

"Next battle should be easy for you, I've seen the rest of the Slot." Faith told Paul. "They have sucky pokemon."

"They're all Grass types, in other words." Brendan explained. "And they're not sucky, be nice."

"Oh come on, he has two bloody Fire types, they'll kick ass."

She was right, too. The next battle for Paul barely even took five minutes, and would have gone faster but the Rentals' Trainer apparently decided to spam Status attacks.

The next Slot didn't last very long- the Trainer who won got some good Rentals who could work well together, for a change. Brendan did really well in his Slot, and thank the Stars for that, because half of his opponents seemed to have recieved a pokemon or two that had an advantage over his two pokemon.

The little Azurill was a shy little pokemon, and in Faith's (and Paul's) opinion, the Gulpin was basically the devil's incarnation. Possibly also several of his demons. He kept poisoning everything he could with a blast of Toxic, and if the pokemon didn't get poisoned or wasn't able to get poisoned, he would shoot off a massive Spit-Up that was superpowered by at least five Stock-Piles.

"I really hope he doesn't decide to keep the Gulpin," Paul said when Brendan was on his last battle. "Otherwise I may consider dropping out of the Gym challenge."

"I'd still go ahead." Faith told him. "I'd steer clear of Gulpin, though . . ."

"I'd just find some way to make myself immune." Skittles sniffed.

"I'm fairly certain I have Poison Heal." Willow put in.

A couple of seconds passed.

"Why didn't you say anything? The market in town has a stall that sells all sorts of pokemon items, and one of them was a Toxic Orb!" Paul burst out.

"After we're done here, we're going to the market." Willow said instantly. Paul didn't have any objections.

There was a loud _bang_ as Azurill fired off a Bubblebeam that hit both of the opponents, who had tried and failed to counter with a quick burst of some long-ranged attack that Faith hadn't seen before. Then the two pokemon fainted and Brendan won, which at least made Gulpin calm down a bit.

"We'll have a half-hour break, so our Top Eights can have a rest and heal their teams- until then, people!" the announcer called.

A couple of people cheered and then shut up abruptly as they realised no one else was doing it, and Brendan came back and then led Faith, Paul and the pokemon to a sort-of quieter bit of the beach. They sat down in a loose circle.

"We all got through then." Brendan noted. "Which Rental do you think you'll want if you don't win? I've already chosen Azurill. Gulpin . . . well, Muddy brings enough crazy into my team to begin with."

"Yeah no fucking kidding- and I already know which Rental I'm keeping." Faith said. "No offence to-"

"Riolu, right?" Magikarp sighed. "It's never me, even if my temporary Trainer even gets into the-"

"Actually it _is_ you."

The fish stared at her in shock, mouth gaping. Then he snapped his mouth shut and tried to speak. "B-but . . . why- why me?"

"Gyarados, presumably." Skittles shrugged from Faith's shoulder.

"No, actually, I do like Magikarps." Faith corrected her. "I like how underestimated they are, so when people get their asses kicked by one they're shocked and don't underestimate them ever again, and then they're overly cautious and lose against another one that's significantly weaker. The Gyarados thing is a bonus."

"Most people would keep the Riolu, though." Brendan told her.

"I certainly would." Paul spoke up. Half the group looked at him. " . . . I'm kidding?"

"Mm." Faith nodded slightly.

"I do not mind not being chosen to leave," Riolu said serenly. "In fact, I believe it is for the best- I sense a great destiny for you, Magikarp."

"Do I evolve?" he asked.

"That remains to be seen. Willow? The Aura training, if you'd like to have a go right now." Riolu reminded their resident Grass/Fighting type.

"Can you teach me the translation thing too? I don't want Paulie paraphrasing whatever I say." Willow said.

"I don't paraphrase." Paul frowned.

"You kinda do." Lyric cheeped, giggling. "Remember the ship? That was funny!"

"Don't remind me." he muttered.

"What happened on the ship?" Faith asked.

"Nothing involving you."

"He-"

"Nope." Paul broke in before Willow could say anything.

" . . . I missed half of that conversation." Brendan sighed. "Can someone translate?"

"Paul screws up translations apparently." Faith shrugged.

"What, that thing with the sailor?" Brendan frowned. "Is that what you're on about?"

"Yes." Willow nodded, so he could at least understand that.

"Why does the good stuff happen when I'm not there?" Faith muttered.

"You broke a ship, how is that not good enough?" Skittles demanded.

"Yeah I'm still stuck on that." Paul mentioned. "How strong are you that you can break a whole ship like that? When I saw the footage, it was literally in pieces!"

"I need a Psychic type or something." Brendan said. "I keep missing turning points in the conversation."

"I believe Paul wishes for a demonstration of Faith's strength." Riolu told him. "He is physically the weakest being here, so I presume you'd like to know the strengths of your friends?"

"I thought you were gonna teach Willow how to beat stuff up with life energy." Paul said flatly.

"Very well." Riolu bowed her head. "Come along, friend Willow."

Willow and Riolu went off to the far side of the beach. The Breloom was asking all kinds of questions about Aura as they went.

"I'm not sure whether or not that was rude," Chimchar commented. "But whatevs. If you don't win the whole thing, which one of us are you keeping Paulie?"

"Not you too . . ." Paul sighed mournfully.

"Every one of his pokemon calls him Paulie." Faith told Brendan. "And so do some of mine, actually."

"You do it sometimes as well." Paul muttered.

"Didn't get an answer." Chimchar sang.

Paul bit his lip and looked at both his Rentals. Faith was still hoping that he'd choose to keep Chimchar, for reasons that should be obvious enough already, but knowing him, Paul might choose to keep the Vulpix instead. If he won the entire Tester he wouldn't have much choice no matter who he wanted to keep.

"Well . . . I kind of don't really know?" Paul shrugged. He- and everyone else- was momenterily distracted by Willow blasting off an Aura Sphear (that was fast) at some Wingull that were flying lazily around, but he tore his eyes away and looked at the sand in front of him while he considered. " . . . But I think, if I have to choose . . . Chimchar."

"Really?" everyone chorused.

Paul looked slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, kind of. It's sort of because I want to get over this thing with Chim- Infernape, but it's actually a bit sillier than that . . ."

"We won't laugh." Brendan assured him.

"Much." Faith added.

Skittles rolled her eyes and Brendan gave Faith a look.

"Fine, I'll try not to." she relented.

Paul watched her for a second, maybe to make sure she was sort of telling the truth, and then mumbled something that only Faith heard.

"That's actually not silly at all," she informed the boy. "It's cute. And sweet."

"Not all of us have super-hearing." Brendan said. "What is it?"

"I said . . . well, I've kind of picked a name for her." Paul mumbled, but he said it loud enough so that everyone could hear it this time.

"This should be a laugh." Skittles muttered. Paul didn't react so Faith assumed he didn't hear it, but she still gave her Normal type a stern-ish glance.

" . . . Enya." Paul said, after a few seconds. "It- I think it means 'little fire', and she's a small Fire type, so I thought . . . I'm sorry, it's stupid, nevermind."

"No, I agree with Faith- it's sweet. Fits, too." Brendan smiled.

"I take back what I said, it's not a laugh." Skittles nodded approvingly.

"Told you, you _can_ make your own nicknames!" Lyric chirped cheerfully. "Willow doesn't need to come up with them anymore!"

"What if you win and you get both of us?" Chimchar- or Enya, since he was gonna keep her anyway- asked.

"I'm not really that bothered about a name," Vulpix shrugged. "So I don't mind."

"Hex might be a good name for a Vulpix." Makit suggested. "Boss once knew a guy who had a Vulpix called that, and she really lived up to the name- mostly by trying to curse everyone she didn't like."

"Oh, that may have been my sister- she stowed away on a boat to Johto because she was bored of Hoenn. This was . . . a couple of decades or two ago, I think." Vulpix hummed.

" . . . How _old_ are you?" Skittles demanded, after a few seconds of silence.

"Three hundred and fifty three, why?"

Brendan looked at everyone's shocked faces and slumped slightly. "I really want a translator device." he muttered sadly.

 **oooo**

Half an hour later, the announcer announced (what) that they were getting back into the Chance Tester. Those taking part- including Faith, Paul and Brendan- had already picked out which pokemon they were going to use alongside the two Rentals they had been given, so there wasn't any fuss about it beforehand.

Faith had chosen Fang to go with her two Rentals, because she got the feeling that he didn't feel used enough during battles. Paul had gone with Lyric, though his original choice had been one of the Electric twins (Motor and Storm) but they refused to do battle without each other. And Brendan decided on his newest pokemon, a Geodude he'd called Cavern.

Brendan explained the rules of the Top Eight rounds- and to Faith, they seemed fairly simple considering they basically used up most of the morning for the preliminary rounds.

It was like this:

The winners from each Slot, of which there were eight in total, would battle against each other in the same style as before (that is, a Knockout tournament). The battles would normally switch from Double Battles to Single Battles, but apparently this changed between each Tester- so last month it might have been Triple Battles in the Top Eights instead of Singles, or it could have continued to be Doubles.

Winners from each Slot would face off against the winner from another Slot- so, A would battle B, C would battle D, and so on. In the first round, there were four battles; A versus B, C versus D, E versus F, and G versus H.

There was no switching allowed (besides the normal 'if HP is down to zero take the pokemon out _now_ 'thing) and once all three pokemon belonging (ish) to one Slot winner were down, they would lose and the winner would go onto the next Top Eight round. The second round had two battles only, consisting of all the winners from the previous round.

The third round only had a single battle in it, as in it was the winners of the previous round against each other. Depending on whether or not it was difficult for one or both of them (or in some cases, neither of them) to get to the last round of the entire Chance Tester, the battle would either be long or short.

Like she'd said before, Faith didn't mind if she lost in the first round, because either way she'd still get to keep Magikarp (and she'd already thought of a good nickname).

"I'm last then." Brendan sighed. "Well, at least I already know who I'm facing against- but those pokemon look really, really evil . . ."

"I think Patrat and Watchog have permenant glares or something," Paul told him. "Ge . . . genetics, I think is the word?"

"No, _I_ think they just use Glare all the time." Faith grinned.

"Or Leer."

"Or they're just anti-social."

"Or grumpy."

"Yes, okay, thank you." Brendan rolled his eyes.

The first battle was sort of really intense. The Slot A winner, the man with the Electrike and Onix, had added in a Tentacruel (Brendan said it was a pretty good combination which covered a lot of weaknesses for each team member) and the Slot B winner, a woman with a Persian and a Flareon, brought in a Fire happy Houndour to liven things up even more.

The Persian turned out to know Water Pulse and Thunderbolt, so the Onix and Tentacruel were taken care of pretty fast. But then the man made a comeback with the Electrike, and then the Houndour came out. Needless to say, the woman won pretty quickly.

Five minutes after that battle, Faith stepped up to the field. She'd chosen Riolu to go first since she knew a lot of moves that would take out just about any pokemon of any type, but of course her opponent- a boy with a Roselia and a Golduck as his Rentals- probably wouldn't know that unless he happened to be in the habit of cheating and looking up the varied movesets of the Rentals being given out to different Trainers.

"And . . . begin!" the announced shouted.

"Riolu!" Faith threw out the ball.

Her opponent threw out his at the same time. "Rosel- aw, crap."

Hah.

"Fire Punch!" Faith shouted.

Riolu's paws burst into flames and she dashed forwards. The Roselia was quicker than it looked though, and it used a quick burst of leaves from its roses to get out of the way. A few caught Riolu on the side, but she ignored them in favour of whipping out the flames and narrowing her eyes up at the Grass type that was sort of in the air.

" . . . Is that thing using his roses and leaves to fly?" Faith muttered.

She shook her head and decided to ignore it. Wasn't the weirdest thing on the planet, after all.

"Aura Sphere!" she ordered.

"Sleep Powder!" the boy snapped out.

One of the rose-cannons (no other words for them) stopped shooting leaves and shot off a cloud of green, lazy-looking pollen. Riolu, obviously not moronic, darted out of the way before twisting in mid-run and firing off a hastily-created Aura Sphere.

It collided with the cloud of pollen and exploded instantly, but it did sort of disperse the cloud to the point where it probably wouldn't do much harm. Most it could do right now, Faith thought, would be to make someone a bit sluggish.

Riolu ran into the dispersed cloud and basically ignored it, and then she jumped. Faith just noticed that her paws were on fire, and then the entire cloud sort of lit up as she did a one-two hit with Fire Punch on the Roselia.

The pollen was burnt out, and the Roselia crashed to the floor with a few scorch marks on his face and chest. Riolu landed a second later, one paw now glittering with Ice and the other still bursting with flames.

"Magical Leaf!" the boy called frantically. Clearly he hadn't know Riolu could learn Fire attacks.

She also had Blaze Kick, but that would just be cruel.

The two pokemon disappeared into a storm of Magical Leaves, and (just like yesterday) all faith could hear was the sound of Fire and Ice battling against Grass.

The storm began to break off after a few seconds, and then the Magical Leaves stopped glowing and died down- revealing Riolu standing over a beaten Roselia.

"I think he _may_ be defeated." she said, turning back to Faith, who tried not to laugh.

The boy gaped for a second or two, and then he sent in his Rented Golduck- not very smart, if he'd been watching some of Riolu's earlier battles. Thunder Punch was the only Punch Faith had allowed her to use, just so she could (if she got into them) give the people in the Top Eights a shocker.

Mostly because it amused her.

"Hiya, sweetie." Golduck grinned. She giggled slightly. "I'll try not to hurt you to much."

"I believe the phrase is, I should be saying that to you." Riolu replied. Golduck looked confused.

"Confusion!" the boy shouted.

Golduck's gem lit up slightly and she gestured, and then a burst of almost-visible energy clipped Riolu on the foot before she could react.

The little Fighing type flinched and flipped away, slipping to one knee when she landed on the foot that had been hit. Faith watched her try and see how bad the damage was, but then another Confusion came in and she had to jump again to avoid being hit- which put her right into the path of a third one.

"Ouch." Faith winced as her Rental went flying, and landed on her back near the edge of the battlefield.

" . . . I am alright." Riolu said after a few seconds of just lying on the ground.

"Can you keep going?" Faith asked. She'd already checked her pokedex, of course, but the HP level was already fairly low- that Golduck was pretty powerful, then. Mind you . . .

"Yes, I can." Riolu said, getting right back up without any problems.

So was Riolu.

Her paws crackled with Thunder Punches, and she shot forward.

Brendan had said that Golduck were some of the fastest swimmers known, and that in the water they were essentially demons. They could manipulate the waters' currents to their own will, and in more than one case a Golduck could also copy Vaporeons and 'melt' into the water for protection or something.

But that was in water.

Golduck tried to dodge but Riolu was too fast for her, and she was blown back with a resonating _crackle-boom-BANG_.

The Water type landed on her back, crackling with lightning, in front of her temporary Trainer- who whined something about overpowered pokemon who looked too cute to do much damage.

He returned Golduck, and then threw out the pokemon he'd added onto the Rental team.

" . . . That might be an issue." Faith admitted.

Tropius roared and rose, leaf-wings flapping heavily, into the air.

"I am not certain Aura Sphere will do much damage, and it is the only long-ranged attack I know currently." Riolu said, looking back at Faith. "Do you have any suggestions?"

. . . She had _one_ , but it was insane and probably wouldn't work- it was also a suggestion worthy of Ash Ketchum. And Lily.

"Can you charge Aura Sphere with one of the types from the Punches?" Faith suggested. "Like Thunder or Fire Punch?"

"Theoretically. Ice Punch may be the best choice, however- he is Grass and Flying typed, after all." Riolu corrected her. Faith nodded. "Very well, I shall try my best."

Faith watched her build up an Aura Sphere, smaller than the ones she'd fired off before, and then she saw the air around the Sphere chill slightly as she added in the type from Ice Punch. Her paw, the one she was building the Ice on the ball from, was glittering softly like it was being covered in ice, and the small Aura Sphere glittered slightly as well.

The boy frowned at Riolu, trying to work out what she was doing, and then he suddenly realised it- but he was too late in trying to warn Tropius.

Riolu chucked the Ice-Aura Sphere into the air, where it collided with one of Tropius's leafy wings. The wing frosted over instantly, but he didn't fall out of the sky- Tropius's remaining wings just worked harder to keep him in the air.

"Could have bloody warned me . . ." he muttered.

"Try a Solarbeam!" the boy called.

" . . . You're an idiot."

Tropius used Razor Leaf.

Riolu flipped out of the way, but Tropius switched the direction of the leaves and they sliced her. The force from the Razor Leaves pushed her back until Riolu was near Faith again, and then the attack cut off.

"Riolu?" Faith tried.

Riolu glanced at her and smiled slightly, and then fell down.

 _Damn,_ Faith thought, _but at least she hit him before she went down._

Now, who could she send out? The obvious answer would, to most people, be Fang- he was more powerful than Magikarp, had better moves (though since he only just learned Bite that was sort of debatable), and was much more manoeuvrable, and a hell of a lot faster. He was also actually capable of moving on his own without uselessly flopping around.

"Magikarp, kick his ass!"

The boy looked exasperated.

"Really, a _Magikarp_? Those things are useless. I hope you choose the Riolu." he called to her.

"Just for that we're gonna kick your ass too." Faith informed him. The boy blinked, slightly startled. Then he laughed.

Tropius looked down at his Trainer, and then at Magikarp.

"Hello, Water brother." he greeted. "Unlike my moron of a Trainer, I don't think you're useless. I hope we can have a battle worthy of your species, and yes I mean that in the greatest of compliments."

"Oh, well, thank you." Magikarp blinked. "And . . . I, you?"

"Acceptable." Tropius laughed.

Then he dove in for an attack, and Magikarp- no fool- Splashed out of the way.

Only he sort of ended up Splashing about fifty or so feet into the air, which no one was expecting. Okay, apparently he _could_ move properly on his own. He just needed to use the bounce from Splash to make his jumps more powerful.

Tropius broke off his attack and circled as Magikarp fell back down onto the sand. He didn't get hurt as far as Faith could tell, but he still looked a little bit startled.

"Keep that up, it's a good way of dodging and moving around!" Faith called to him.

"Yeah, alright then." Magikarp agreed.

He glanced at his fins and then flopped them about the same way he'd used Splash before. This time he only ended up going about twenty feet into the air, but the force from the jump still made Tropius push back quickly to avoid being hit by a ballastic fish.

Well the good news was he could battle on his own at least.

"Flail!" Faith snapped out.

He Splashed into the air again, but this time Tropius was ready and shot a few Razor Leaves at him. Magikarp literally flailed for a second, and then he actually Flailed and somehow deflected a few of the Leaves with his tail. What, were Magikarp tails good for that sort of stuff? Faith had no idea, but whatever worked.

Tropius swooped in and almost grabbed Magikarp from the air, but he Flailed again and hit the Grass/Flying type right on the nose. That, combined with the damage done from the Ice-Aura Sphere, knocked him onto the ground- and then a couple of seconds later, Magikarp followed his lead, unhurt at all.

"I'm never underestimating a Magikarp again, I swear." Faith heard someone in the crowd mutter.

She grinned to herself. Sweet, people were gonna be too cautious about any and all Magikarp now. Then they'd lose and there would be more epic Magikarp being trained.

"Finish him off, he can't have that much HP left." Faith told Magikarp, who nodded and flopped towards his opponent.

Who he slapped with a fin.

"Battle 2 winner- Faith!" the announcer shouted, as the boy returned his Tropius with a scowl. If he was smaller, wore darker clothing and had purple hair and eyes, he'd look just like Paul when he was pissed.

But whatever, she'd won and that was awesome.

"Go Faith!" Lyric sang, when she got back to their little group after healing her Rentals. "And go Magikarp too!"

"Oh, thank you!" Magikarp smiled. Faith adjusted his position in her arms so he could see Lyric, who was still on Paul's _pink_ hair, a bit better. "To be honest I . . . didn't expect that. I never thought I could defeat a Grass type!"

"Anything's possible," Paul told him. "If Ash taught me _anything_ , it's that."

"Did you know his Pikachu can shock Ground types sometimes?" Faith asked.

Paul stared at her. " . . . What." he eventually said.

"Moving on from the impossible things some kid's pokemon can do," Brendan interrupted. "That was a pretty good battle. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I will never underestimate a Magikarp, ever again."

"That's what I want you to do." Faith grinned.

Brendan blinked at her.

"I don't understand." he told her.

"Good."

The next battle- the winner from Slot E versus Paul- started up in a few minutes. Brendan said that he had seen this girl's added pokemon, which sort of fit in with the other Ground types she had. Bad news for Paul since all three of them- a Donphan and Rhydon, and a Steelix, of all damn things- had an advantage over two out of three of his Rentals, and Lyric wasn't exactly the greatest battler on the planet.

He sent in Chim- ah, Enya- into the battle first, and she was up against the Rhydon. Faith could only hope she had some sort of attack that would beat the thing, otherwise she and Paul were screwed.

"I think Enya may know Brick Break." Brendan muttered. "If not, he's dead, basically."

"You have so much faith in him." Makit observed.

Faith opened her mouth, because hey that was her name and was this a pun, but Brendan looked at her and frowned. She said nothing.

Whatever.

It seemed Paul didn't know what to do either. He hadn't frozen, but it was near enough. Enya glanced back at him and frowned, clearly thinking, and then the announcer shouted "begin" and the girl snapped out an attack before anyone could react.

"Rock Blast!"

Enya seemed to make a decision, and jumped out of the way of the attack and then fired off a few Embers in response.

Rhydon brought up her arm and blocked the attack, and then shot off a few more Rock Blasts- but Enya jumped out of the way of those too, and Paul sort of just let her do her thing and watched.

He seemed happier to do that. Faith thought that maybe, if he'd actually tried to do anything and if Enya hadn't made her own decision right from the start, Paul probably would have just frozen and this would have happened anyway. Basically, he wouldn't have been able to give her any orders.

"Hey, try actually hitting me and this might go a bit faster!" Enya taunted. Rhydon growled, and then things got really complicated.

Attacks went back and forth, mostly long-ranged, though Rhydon tried to hit Enya with the occasional Take Down out of pure frustration. This went on for a while, until Enya revealed that she _could_ use Brick Break.

That ended the battle quickly, and the girl sent out her Rented Donphan.

"Hey," Enya called. Donphan looked at her with wide, slightly terrified eyes. "Grass Knot."

 _Wham._

"Damn kid, that Chimchar is a beast." the girl called to Paul. "But I'd to see you take down Train!"

She sent in her Steelix.

 **oooo**

"I'm sort of wondering whether or not Enya is Muddy in disguise." Faith commented.

"I really hope not." Brendan winced.

It was probably a redundant thought, since Train was currently in a slightly melted tangle of his own body. But at least Enya didn't have huge anger management issues. Or, well, she didn't appear to have them . . . yet.

Enya showed absolutely no shame whatsoever in beating a Steelix in such a horrific way, and it looked like several Trainers in the crowd were too shocked to do much else besides gape and possibly rethink their life choices about being a Trainer to begin with.

Paul came over with Enya perched smugly on top of his head.

" . . . What?" he asked, when they just stared at him. Then Paul noticed that several people around them had given them a wide berth. "Why are they avoiding you?"

"You don't- oh, forget it." Brendan sighed.

"No, really, what is it?"

"Never you mind, kid." the older boy muttered.

Paul's eyes narrowed, and Lyric broke in by popping out of her ball, stopping the outburst unknowingly.

A few minutes later, after some experts who luckily happened to be in the area for the Tester had helped, Train the Steelix was put back to normal. But she did seem to be a little bit more than terrified of small Fire types now.

Then it was Brendan's turn to battle, and everything went beautifully.

Uh, kind of. Spamming Toxic and Spit-Up on three Normal types wasn't entirely beautiful, but whatever. First the Patrat went down within two hits (Toxic and then basically just a slap of mud or something), then the Watchog went down with several Stock-Piles and a single Spit-Up, and then the guy's Stantler went down with no fewer than two Toxics and five Spit-Ups.

At least the Stantler lasted longer than the Rentals.

 **OOOOOO**

Renny: Alright, I'll break it off here- but I'll give you the second round for the Top Eights as it currently stands, though, just in case you can't get that from the chapter.

 **Slot B winner- woman with Persian and Flareon, Houndour**

 **Slot C winner- Faith (Magikarp and Riolu, Fang)**

 **Slot F winner- Paul (Chimchar and Vulpix, Lyric)**

 **Slot H winner- Brendan (Azurill and Gulpin, Cavern)**

Paul: You're only breaking this off so the readers will think you haven't abandoned this entirely.

Renny: No, because for some damn reason I have some stuff planned for later chapters. Which, actually, I think I should write that crap down before I forget everything or come up with something that doesn't make any sense at all.

Paul: One of said ideas involves me and _every single Ice and Dragon Legendry in creation_. How does _that one_ make sense?

Renny: It just does. For those reading this AN, you'll probably figure it out- that right there is called Foreshadowing. In the form of Paul being an idiot, but yes, anyway. Teams!

 **Paul: Breloom- Female, Sassy, Willow - Plusle- Male, Naive, Motor - Minun- Male, Naive, Storm - (Shiny) Swablu- Female, Jolly, Lyric - Aron- Male, Hasty, Jack**

 **Brendan: Marshtomp- Female, Bold, Muddy - Gligar- Male, Quiet, Shake - Geodude- Male, Docile, Cavern**

Paul: Where's Enya? And the Magikarp?

Renny: They aren't technically a part of anyone's teams yet, so they're not in the team info as of yet. Read and review!


	13. NEW ACCOUNT

Hey guys. I know this seems kinda sudden, but I'm moving accounts.

The new one is called RennyBanette, and since FF is a bitch for links, you'll either have to type in the name in the search thing or, alternatively, go to this profile page and follow the link there.

This fic will not be posted on my new account. In case you were going to ask.

Anyway, see you guys on my new account!


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